Harry Potter and the Heir of Voldemort
by Callista MacLeod
Summary: In their sixth year, Harry Potter and his friends face new challenges as the Heir of the Dark Lord terrorizes Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
1. Let Freedom Ring

__

*~* Chapter One: Let Freedom Ring *~*

In a northern town of Minnesota, a teenaged girl opened the doorway from the attic she slept in and quietly peered to the left and right of the stair landing.

No one.

Slowly, silently —oh ever so silently— she made her way down the hall, guitar slung on her back, leather-bound scrapbook clutched tightly in her hands. As she passed the room that George and Susan slept in she was extremely slow and cautious, her eyes to the ground to be certain that she didn't step on the loose floorboards that would announce her escape to all light sleepers. 

When she finally reached the back door and turned the knob, she let out the breath she'd been holding. The small amount of oil that she had managed to put on without her relative's notice had done the trick, and the lock would no longer emit a rusty squeak.

She let herself out quickly, lest she be discovered escaping now that she was so close to freedom. As she shut the door behind her, she looked out at the yard. The sun had not yet risen, but it was easy to see that it would shortly. A misty fog hung low to the earth, and the only sound besides the girl's breathing was a few birds singing sweetly, filling the air with their melodious tunes. She stepped off of the porch, into the dewy grass, and walked briskly towards the forest that she had come to know so well.

Slipping under the canopy of trees, she traveled quickly to her special place . . . her favorite place. Here there was a small brook, and five great trees that formed a circle: Two willows, one pine, and two maple. The ground was soft and mossy, and a few wildflowers grew near the stream. She breathed deeply of the fresh air and sighed happily, at peace for the first time since having had come home a week prior.

She climbed the great maple tree, coming to rest on a strong, wide branch that she had rested on numerous times before. She adjusted the guitar that had once belonged to her brother so that it was resting against her chest and leaned back against the strong trunk of the majestic tree. Paying no mind to the guitar, she instead went straight to the scrapbook, untying the ribbon that held it closed and reading first what was written on the inside cover.

__

KayKay,

While you and Harry grew closer, I took the liberty of capturing the moments, both funny and sweet, knowing that they were something that you would certainly treasure. With the help of Megan, I gathered enough "memories" and put this together. I also made one for Harry. I hope to see you again someday . . .whenever it is.

Love you!

Hermione.

Smiling, KayKay began to flip through the book yet again as the sun began to rise, making a warm honey-like light filter softly through the trees. She looked at the pictures as she had done throughout the entire flight home from England, where she had attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for a year on an exchange program.

Ah, memories. Not long after KayKay had arrived, she had met the very cute, very sweet, very friendly Harry Potter. She'd tried to stop herself, but she had fallen head over heels for him, despite how much she wished not to. KayKay had trusted him deeply, fully, and he completely deserved such trust. The pair had grown close _very_ quickly, and KayKay had felt like she was in Heaven. To that day, she could still remember the taste of his kiss.

Then, midway through January, Fleur Delacour, a young woman who was part Veela, tried to split the couple apart. She set something up so it appeared to KayKay that Harry was simply using her. And KayKay was sorry to say she had believed her.

Turning another page of the book, KayKay laughed at the picture, as she did every time. It was of the day that she had seen Fleur kiss Harry, and she had been positively livid. In the animated photograph, it portrayed how she had screamed at him during dinner and dumped a pitcher full of pumpkin juice on his head. The caption below read: _I was unsure of adding this picture, seeing how it was during a particularly difficult time for you, but it was very funny, and you two made up when all was said and done, so I decided to anyhow._

Which was quite true . . . however, they didn't make up until KayKay had almost died twice . . . the first time in an attempted suicide, which she was now ashamed to admit. She had been overcome with grief, grief assisted by the spy Voldemort had placed at Hogwarts in the hopes of KayKay's death. All the bad things in her life had been pulled to the front of her mind: witnessing her family being murdered when she was seven, being put in an abusive home with her cousin, and the one guy she trusted fully turning out to be a cheater. KayKay had cut her wrist deeply, and had almost died . . . but Jake, her guardian angel, had saved her from Death.

The second time KayKay had almost died had been some time later, around the start of May. The school had gone to Hogsmeade, and while there, Draco Malfoy had pushed her to her snapping point. She had beaten him down . . . _and_ given him a good shiner too . . . when suddenly, a Deatheater hidden in the Shrieking Shack, only the first of many, had cast the Cruciatus Curse on her. All she had known was extreme, blinding pain, and then sudden darkness, as Draco punched her sharply in the temple. Had he hit just slightly harder, she would have suffered from a concussion. All this was what she later found out from Harry and Chad Kilman. Chad had driven Draco away while Harry actually _carried_ her . . . _in his arms . . . _to where he could get help. At this point, they were still broken up, but despite it, Harry spent all the time he could sitting in the chair next to her bed, holding her hand. KayKay had been out for about two weeks when she saw Jake come to her. She had cried, afraid she was really going to die that time, but he simply said "Believe him". She woke suddenly, and Harry was sitting above her where he quickly explained that what she had seen between him and Fleur wasn't true, and that he was sorry, and best of all . . . he told her "I love you." KayKay was almost floating on air as she forgave him and apologized profusely for not believing him. She was most happy to say that the whole incident had only made them closer.

Then, in late June, Lord Voldemort captured Harry and KayKay. And who was the one to bring them to him but . . . Fleur Delacour. KayKay had been most certain that if there had been a spy, it was Viktor Krum, for he was most threatening towards Ron, and always seemed busy with secretive activity.

Voldemort had turned his wand upon KayKay, prepared to speak the words that had killed so many, when something amazing, unexplainable, and miraculous occurred. Harry, in apparent rage had broken free of the Deatheaters holding him and, as time somehow slowed down before their very eyes, ran to KayKay, kneeling down in front of her so as to block the curse from claiming her life. However, as he grabbed her hands when skidding to a stop and dropping to the floor, a strange radiance of power seemed to emanate from deep within them. After a long stretch of silence had passed without Harry falling to the floor beside KayKay, dead, she chanced a look up.

A protective shield, crackling and fizzing with power, surrounded the two. It was pale blue, and it glowed with strength. Try as he might, Voldemort could not get in . . . and Harry and KayKay could not get out. A Deatheater had been killed by the curse that rebounded, apparently it was the shield that made him die. They took his body with when they finally escaped . . . the man's name was Peter Pettigrew, and his present body could mean the freedom of Harry's Godfather.

The pair would have died if it weren't for their birthright . . . and their love. They were the only possessors of an ancient power that had been lost to the magical world for centuries, ever since the great Godric Gryffindor passed on. They were called the Powers of Light and Darkness, and whoever wielded them was . . . in the simplest sense . . . invincible.

The powers had split between Gryffindor's twin children, and through many years, KayKay now had the powers of attack, and Harry had all the powers of protection. When holding hands or something similar, the powers could be used, but in all other times, the laid dormant.

It was this power that that made Voldemort determined to kill the Potters, and his Deatheaters later determined to kill her own family. The young children had stood as the threat that could mean life or death for the ruthless killer even in their young age. Because no magic could destroy the power-hungry Dark Lord anymore . . . no power except for theirs.

Besides finding out that one could say the fate of the world was resting on her shoulders, while in England KayKay had found out that she still had one living relative that she hadn't been told about . . . Remus Lupin, an uncle. Sadly, she couldn't live with him because he was a Werewolf, and Dumbledore was most certain that she would be safer with George and Susan . . . more commonly called Joe and Sue.

Leaving Hogwarts and all her friends was one of the hardest things KayKay ever had to do. Harry had been allowed to accompany her to the airport, and after a tearful goodbye, he reminded her that he loved her, and always would . . .

"Hey there KayKay!" a voice shouted up from below. KayKay looked down at her neighbor who stood below, smiling as much as anything. "I thought I'd find you here!"

"Hello Emily!" she grinned, sitting up straighter and closing the scrapbook. "How are you? I haven't seen you since last August!"

"Oooh!" she squealed, "KayKay, that's so cute!"

"What is?" KayKay asked in complete confusion, looking at her clothes, scrapbook and guitar, wondering what Emily was referring to.

"The way you talk . . . God, that's adorable! You must have picked it up during the school year!"

"How do I talk?" 

"With that cute little English accent! You must have gotten that from being in England for so long!" Emily exclaimed.

"Oh, yes, that" KayKay said with a slight blush. "It's not like I'm trying to or anything . . ."

"Which is what makes it so neat" Emily supplied, sitting down on the ground, legs sprawled out before her.

"Well, if you say so . . . oh, and Happy Fourth of July!" KayKay replied as she turned to climb down the tree. For indeed, it _was_ July fourth.

"I'm the one who should be wishing you a good day . . . Happy Birthday, KayKay." She handed KayKay what appeared to be a small piece of paper. She held it close and read it.

__

ADMIT ONE: Valleyfair

Underneath there was more. KayKay didn't bother reading it, but instead looked back at Emily in shock. "This is for me?"

"Yes, silly" she giggled. "I'm going, and I want you to come with!"

KayKay wanted to . . .she wanted to so very much. But Joe and Sue would never allow it.

"I can't," she said glumly handing back the ticket. "I'm very sorry Emily, I can't. Joe and Sue would have a fit"

"KayKay, you have barely any fun! You work all summer, and you have barely a moment of peace. Surely Joe and Sue will let you come, if not because of that then because it will get rid of you for the day."

This was true . . . "But Emily, these tickets cost so much. I can't possibly— "

"Hey, it isn't everyday you turn sixteen, is it? I want you to have it KayKay, and I want you to come with me"

KayKay looked at the ticket, then back up at Emily with a happy smile.

"Thank you" she said, crouching down to give Emily a hug. "By the way, when are we going?"

She smiled. "Today"

"_Today?_" KayKay cried in shock. 

"Yeah, today." Emily repeated. "The Fourth of July celebration is always spectacular. There's always an _amazing_ fireworks show after dark, and it's open later than on normal nights . . . 

"After dark?" KayKay echoed weakly. "There's no way . . . I mean, Valleyfair is at least an hour from here . . ."

"An hour and a half," Emily supplied, "But why get technical? This was my idea: you and I are going to head there in my truck—"

"_'Your'_ truck?"

"Yes, _my_ truck. I got it in March when I got my license. Anyhow, we'll go in my truck, my parents will come in the car with Jackie and Melissa, and we'll meet up a few times during the day. Then, at night, we'll stay at this hotel that isn't too far from the place." Emily explained as the excitement in her face getting more and more obvious. "And if we want to go, it should be soon."

"But Emily, Joe and Sue . . ."

"My parents will talk to them. Come on KayKay . . . how about it?"

KayKay pondered carefully. It wasn't an issue of not wanting to go . . . who _wouldn't_ want to go? Valleyfair was an _awesome_ amusement park . . . it was gigantic for one thing, and it was filled with all the heart-stopping roller coasters to make even the greatest daredevil content. Not only did it have that, but a ton of other wild rides, an I-Max theater, and an entire water park. A kid who didn't like Valleyfair was alien.

The only actual problem KayKay could find with the idea was her cousin. She despised letting KayKay have fun of any sort, and she would get annoyed if KayKay wasn't around to do chores and dishes. But, it was only for one night, KayKay reasoned, and if Emily's parents talked to Sue about it, she could do no worse than not let her have supper . . . not that it would matter. KayKay, when not constricted by her guitar and such, could climb precariously down a tall Elm from the low window of the attic and sneak down to the grocery store to buy a bit of food with money she had saved and stashed behind a hidden panel.

"Sounds great!" KayKay said finally, with a grin as large as Christmas. "I'll just need to get a few things from my room, and I'll be ready to go!"

* * * * *

KayKay left her things with Emily in the grove and went quietly back to the hose, expertly avoiding being seen. She'd sneaked around many times before, and she knew exactly where it was safe to walk in the open and when she had to duck behind a rosebush or garden statue to not be caught.

Grabbing the lowest branch of the tree on the side of the house she both called home and prison, KayKay hoisted herself up. She was able to climb quickly, until she got about to the second floor. There, the branches got much less stable, and KayKay had to go slowly, swaying dangerously close to the walls of the house. She finally was high enough to grab the windowsill with one hand, using the other to keep a hold on the tree. Pulling herself up, she grabbed the sill with both hands and, in a practiced motion, pulled herself up and swung her leg over the sill and into her room. She had left the window open as was normal in the summer, seeing how air conditioning didn't affect the attic and there were no screens to speak of put up on the windows.

KayKay straightened and looked at the small area she was given to live in. It was an empty alcove of the attic, mostly bare and unlit. There was a cot hammock in a corner, the place where she slept. When she'd first come to live with her cousins, it had been a mattress placed on the floor. It had a couple pillows and a few sheets and the blue blanket that she had made many years ago for her older brother. No heavy quilts were needed, since KayKay lived there only in the summer.

Next to the cot there was a small bookshelf. On the top were a few pictures of her family that had been salvaged from her house when she was a child. The pictures were somewhat faded, but they were worth gold to KayKay. The second shelf held a few magic textbooks and one or two mostly-blank journals. KayKay had gotten diaries and journals as gifts before, but was never able to establish a daily habit. On the third and final shelf were a couple notebooks, broken-tipped pencils, job flyers and job applications. It just so happened that KayKay had applied at the YMCA again, like she had the previous summer, and would be teaching indoor and outdoor rock-climbing, in addition to lifeguard duty on weekends. Her job started Friday.

But that didn't matter yet, for today was Sunday, and KayKay's sixteenth birthday besides. She had a friend waiting for her.

Dashing quickly through her "bedroom", KayKay began to throw some things into her empty bookbag. Being in the United States, KayKay would have much preferred a normal backpack, or even a duffel, but seeing how she didn't own either, her bookbag would have to do.

A pair of pajamas, a change of clothes, her red one-piece swimsuit that she'd soon be wearing while on-duty at the Y, and a handful of money from the secret panel KayKay had discovered years ago in the walls of the near-ancient house were the first to be shoved into the bag. As an afterthought, KayKay also added a towel. She didn't particularly want to walk around in a wet swimsuit after going to the water park.

KayKay froze mid-track when she heard a thump from downstairs. Had she been too loud? Not hanging around to find out, KayKay swung the stuffed bag over her shoulder with the strap across her chest and hurried to the window.

This was the scary part. KayKay dangled one leg out of the window, sitting on the sill. Taking a deep breath, KayKay glanced down again at the position of the tree branches. There hadn't been much of a change in their location since the summer prior, so KayKay figured she'd be fine. Closing her eyes, she twisted her body so the other leg was dangling out, and she tightened her grip on the windowsill. Her hands were now all that kept her from falling, and the tight hold she had on the sill was causing her knuckles to turn white. Using her right foot, as normal, she probed the air for the branch she normally stepped to next. Finding it, she shuffled over a few inches with her hands and put her leg down on it, relieving much of the tension from her arms.

Which was when things went wrong.

The branch gave way beneath her and, not being prepared for it, KayKay lost her grip on the wooden edging. She was able to catch herself just in time, nails breaking as she scrabbled at the edge of the windowsill. It was a miracle that she didn't cry out in surprise and attract the undesired attention of her cousin. Kicking her legs, she was finally able to get them against the side of the house to brace herself a bit as she pulled herself up higher on the sill, her fingertips the only things keeping her from falling almost three stories, down to the hard ground.

In an amazing show of strength (or stupidity), KayKay let go of the windowsill with one of her hands and instead grabbed a branch of the tree, forgetting how thin and pliant the branches were so high up. Almost instantly after KayKay added her weight to it, it cracked, and this time she lost all hold on the windowsill and began falling downward, everything seeming to go by in both slow motion and a blur at the same time. KayKay would not have been able to scream even if she had wanted to . . . she was in a state where no sound could be issued from her mouth, no matter how hard she tried.

She hit the hard ground with a thud, landing on her back. She closed her eyes and lay there for a moment, trying to steady her racing heart after her ordeal, and attempting to steady her gasps for air. Slowly, she rolled off of the protruding tree root she'd landed on with a groan. She sat up, holding one hand to her head as the world righted itself.

"Well, that was an adventure," KayKay muttered to herself, examining the damage. Besides the fact that the top few branches of the tree were broken and that she'd never trust the tree as a method of transportation again, some things had fallen from her bookbag (which had somehow fallen off and was laying a few feet away), there was a hole in her jeans, and she could feel a bump forming on the back of her head. Aside from the bump, however, she appeared to be uninjured, and her back was only a mild irritation as she stood up to gather her things quickly, before she was seen. All in all, KayKay decided that it could have easily been worse. Fate must have been treating her kindly in honor of her birthday.

* * * * *

"So, when are you taking your driving test?" Emily asked KayKay nonchalantly as she backed her blue pickup out of the driveway. KayKay's things were in the backseat with Emily's (all things besides her photo album, of course), and they were ready for a day at Valleyfair.

"Well, I dunno. It depends on if I ever learn how to _drive"_ KayKay drawled sarcastically, looking at Emily.

"What? Girl, you mean to tell me that you're sixteen and have never even _sat_ behind the wheel of a car?" Emily exclaimed as she looked over at KayKay incredulously.

"Hey, eyes on the road!" KayKay cried, "I'd like this to be my first trip to Valleyfair, not my last!"

Emily muttered something about "backseat drivers", but nonetheless looked back at the road.

KayKay rolled her eyes and leaned forward, fiddling with the radio dial.

"Hey! Where's the country on this thing?" she exclaimed after tuning to many different stations and not hearing one western song.

"Mmmm . . . try 102. I think that's a country station." Emily replied as she started down a freeway ramp, narrowly avoiding a collision with a Suburban. The driver of the other car voiced his anger by honking his horn loudly and shouting at Emily, "What are you, blind? You could have . . . " 

Emily rolled up her window with a sly grin, and pressed her foot to the gas, effectively cutting off the angry man's shouting, and causing KayKay to fall back against her seat roughly because of the momentum.

"I did mention that I'd like to remain in one piece, didn't I?" KayKay questioned slowly, pushing herself back to an upright position. Emily's eyes flickered in KayKay's direction, but she didn't turn her head.

"I wasn't aware that you cared so much." Emily retorted jokingly, merging lanes so quickly that KayKay, who was unprepared, fell against the passenger door.

"Well as a matter of fact, I do-ooo!" KayKay squealed the last part as Emily changed lanes again.

"Why the change from last summer?" Emily asked as if she'd done nothing wrong.

"Because!" KayKay huffed, straightening up. "I have to at least live past graduation so I can . . ."

KayKay immediately stopped speaking. She'd almost said, _" . . . so I can find Harry and we can pick up where we left off"_, but she'd caught herself just in time. Who was she kidding?

But Emily wouldn't give up so easily. "So you can what?"

"Nothing" KayKay replied too quickly. " I wasn't gonna say anything."

"Yes you were, what was it?"

"I wasn't going to say anything! I was just gonna say 'so I can' and than . . . stop" The excuse even seemed lame to KayKay.

"Right, suuure you were."

"I was! Now be quiet, I like this song!" KayKay snapped. In truth, she had no idea what song was playing, but it didn't matter to KayKay. She liked almost all country songs except . . .

. . . The one that was playing. Inwardly, KayKay groaned, but rather than voice this to Emily, she opened her photo album again and listened to the song as she flipped through pages. But it seemed so different from before. The song, that is. It seemed to just . . . take on new meaning.

__

. . .That feeling that someone  
Is standing behind me  
And I turn around and there's no one there.  
It's the sensation  
That someone just whispered,  
Yeah and I still hear your voice but you're not really here.  
Your memory is like a ghost,  
And my heart is it's host.  
  
I can still feel you just as close as skin  
Every now and then.  
All by myself, in a crowded— 

KayKay leaned forward and switched the station abruptly. A new song came on.

__

. . . We'll join our hands again someday 

And trade kisses before night

And talk of the times we had 

We'll be together oh someday 

And look up the stars at night 

And laugh at the fun we—

KayKay switched the station again, gritting her teeth. Honestly, the DJs were trying to drive her mad!

__

. . . Will I see you again?   
  
'Cause time will pass me by,   
Maybe I'll never learn to smile,   
But I know I'll make it through,   
If you wait for me . . .   
And all the tears I cry,   
No matter how I try,   
They'll never bring you to me— 

"I swear, everyone is out to get me!" KayKay hissed, giving up and turning off the radio altogether. She flopped back in her seat with a huff, then glanced slowly at Emily. The truck was at a stoplight, and Emily was scrutinizing KayKay carefully and suspiciously.

"What?" KayKay asked, beginning to feel uncomfortable under her stare.

"KayKay, what's up? You're being _way_ strange . . ."

"Nothing."

"KayKay, there's definitely something different, I just can't put my finger on it. Your personality is . . . I don't know . . ."

"I am _not_ different." KayKay insisted.

"But—"

The light is green, Emily." KayKay cut her off, looking away from her friend and out the passenger window. As the truck started moving again, it began to pass other vehicles on the road. One of them, however, stayed at the same speed. KayKay looked at the person driving, and jumped when she saw that _he_ was looking at _her_.

He looked to be about the same age as KayKay and Emily. He watched the road again, but still glanced now and then at KayKay. He had dark brown hair and medium brown eyes, and he was wearing a constant grin. KayKay soon wasn't really seeing the guy that was there, but instead, a picture of Harry formed in her mind. She propped her elbow on the armrest and rested her chin in her hand as she daydreamed.

She couldn't believe how much it was that she missed Harry! It was rather ridiculous, said the part of her mind that could still reason logically. They had only known each other for maybe seven months, and seven months, in a grand scheme, was not long. And for her to have trusted him as she did was even crazier, although he had certainly deserved the trust.

But moreover, they were only teenagers. Simple teenagers—well, not _simple_ teenagers—but all the same, too young to feel so committed. KayKay felt as if to not remain loyal to him would be a horrible fault, to which her logic complained was even stupider . . .

The boy in the next truck over winked at her and she quickly looked away, a blush rising in her cheeks. She and the boy both knew that she'd been staring. Not intentionally, of course, but the boy didn't know that. KayKay was so mortified, that she didn't look out of her window for the whole remainder of the trip.

* * * * *

"Just leave it in the car and bring in your swimsuit and towel. You can buy a bag to carry them in for like, 25 cents once you get in the park, and you don't want to drag that bookbag around" Emily instructed KayKay. They were in the Valleyfair parking lot, ready for their fun day. It was still only a quarter to nine, since they had both been up early and made good time.

"Sounds good" KayKay replied, quickly extracting what she needed and throwing the bag back into the truck. "Are we ready to go?"

"Let's see . . . tickets, money, swimsuit, sunglasses . . . yep, all here!" Emily replied as she checked her own bag.

"Great, let's hit the park!" KayKay said, closing the door to her friend's truck. The excitement she was feeling was enough to chase away her romantic pining, at least for the time being.

The two friends hurried into the park. A young lady who worked at Valleyfair took their picture and gave them a ticket, saying that in two hours they could go to the photo desk and see if they wanted to buy a copy.

"That's nice . . ." KayKay commented lightly as she and Emily resumed walking. They were not yet fully i_in/i_ the park . . . they were more in a small courtyard, surrounded by shops to the left and, to the right, the photo desk the photographer had mentioned. Emily ushered KayKay along, and as they skirted the fountain in the center and got all the way through to the main park, KayKay stopped and looked around slowly.

There was every ride imaginable! A giant . . . and that means _giant . . . _and vicious looking roller coaster in the distance. A bit closer was a very tall tower, three in fact. There appeared to be people in harnessed seats going up to the tops, which were at least 200 feet high, and then being dropped in a free-fall. There was a Giant Floom, with a bridge passerby could stand on and get drenched at, a merry-go-round, miniature roller coaster, and the ever-popular Strawberry Ride for some of the little kids . . . That was just naming a few. In fact, KayKay thought as she looked around, there were enough rides to satisfy even the wildest of hearts.

"KayKay. Earth to KayKay. Come on, girl!" Emily said, snapping her fingers in front of KayKay's face. "We didn't come all this way just to _look_ at the rides! What do you want to go on first?"

"I want to . . . I want to . . ." KayKay pulled out the park map and scanned it quickly. She grinned, and pointed to an illustration. 

"I want to go on _that_"

* * * * *

"That" was the Corkscrew, a twisting, turning, loop-de-loop roller coaster. Emily groaned a bit, but came nonetheless went on the wild ride with KayKay. She stepped off looking okay but not eager to repeat the experience, and KayKay came off wanting to do it all over again.

"That was brilliant!" KayKay exclaimed, all but jumping up and down.

"Brilliant?" Emily asked KayKay oddly. "Care to translate?"

"Oh!" KayKay hadn't even realized that she'd picked up slightly on Ron's way of speech. "That means awesome. Sorry, England mode again." She was slightly embarrassed, but got over it quickly. "Come on, let's go to the Water Park!"

So saying, she grabbed Emily's wrist and the pair ran between the masses of people, feeling carefree and light. They reached the Water Park about ten minutes later, it being on the opposite end of the park. Changing as quickly as they could, Emily and KayKay stashed their things on top of the lockers rather then having to pay ten dollars just to rent a locker.

"Oh my gosh." KayKay said slowly when they had emerged from the locker room and looked at the water rides. A wild grin was slowly creeping across KayKay's face, and she knew immediately what ride she wanted to go on first.

It was a tall slide that had an almost vertical drop before leveling out horizontally at the bottom. Someone was even going down now; arms crossed across their chest tightly eyes closed even tighter. To KayKay, it looked like nothing but fun.

KayKay pointed slowly, the grin of a maniac spreading across her face. "I have _got_ to go on that one."

Not even waiting for a response from Emily, she began to walk hurriedly towards . . . she looked up and read the sign . . . Panic Falls. She was perfectly content to wait in the line that wound down the long path . . . it wouldn't take as long as it appeared. There were two of the steep slides, and three speed slides besides. It would go quickly enough.

"Hey, get back here!"

KayKay barely had a chance to register the blur that flew past her in the front before another one collided with her, knocking her to the ground painfully and making her scrape both her hands on the concrete.

KayKay looked up angrily. "Hey, next time watch where you're go . . . going . . ." She froze when she saw who it was that had inadvertently knocked her to the ground so roughly.

"Well, hi there." It was the exact same boy that she'd seen on the car ride to Valleyfair! The one who'd caught her staring at him. "Long time, no see, huh?"

He gave her another one of those winks and offered her a hand up. His grip was strong, but gentle, and he quickly got her back on her feet.

"I'm sorry I plowed right into you like that . . . are you alright?" The boy's face was one of concern, and KayKay looked again at her hands. They were scraped up pretty 

badly . . . bits of sand had gotten into the wounds as well. Wordlessly, she showed them to the boy, who immediately took her by the hand gently and led her out of the line and over to a first aid tent right near the locker rooms.

As the lifeguard cleaned her hands, and the side of her leg, which she had also scraped up and not noticed, KayKay cast surreptitious looks at her "attacker". He seemed to be truly sorry for knocking into her, judging by the expression of his face. Speaking of his face, he seemed to be a nice guy, if one could tell so easily. His chestnut-brown eyes had the appearance of an ever-present smile, and he was both frowning because of his clumsiness and smiling because of . . . well, why ever it was that he was smiling. KayKay wouldn't have thought it possible for someone to frown and smile at the same time, but that was what he was doing, and it served to fascinate KayKay.

KayKay's mind had been wandering so much that she had barely even noticed the sting antiseptic used to sanitize her scrapes. So it came as a bit of a shock when the lifeguard said, "Done! Now, you should probably steer clear of the water until they scab over, which will probably take a few hours. But when they do, swim all you want" She smiled at KayKay as she began to return the medical supplies to their proper place.

"Oh, thank you . . . thank you a lot!" KayKay said brightly. The boy . . . KayKay briefly wondered what his name was . . . again offered her a hand and helped her hop down from the table she had been seated on. Side by side they left the tent. The boy spoke up first.

"I just want to say again that I'm real sorry you got hurt. That looks painful."

KayKay looked briefly at him, his concerned eyes leaving a lasting impression in her memory. She looked away again and commented, "I wouldn't worry about it. Believe me, I've had worse." Thinking of her confrontation with Voldemort, she added in an undertone, "Much worse."

"What was that?" he asked, leaning closer in an attempt to hear her better.

"Never mind. By the way, what's your name?" KayKay smoothly changed the subject.

"Matt" he answered instantly. "What's yours?"

"I'm KayKay" she replied absentmindedly, scanning the crowd for Emily.

"Are you from England?"

This gained a look of shock from KayKay, but remembering how Emily had also said she had a touch of an English accent, she answered simply.

"No, I'm from here. I went to England, on an exchange program"

"Really? A few kids from my school went on those, maybe we go to the same school! I mean, you are old enough, right?" Matt asked in a rush.

"Yes, I'm old enough. I'm sixteen . . . but I don't go to your school." KayKay answered evasively, resuming her search for her friend.

"How can you be sure?" Matt asked, turning and walking backwards in front of KayKay so he could look her in the eyes. "I mean, I just started at a new school last year. If you were overseas, we wouldn't have met yet."

"Believe me," KayKay laughed, "If you went to my school, I'd know you" Of this, KayKay was certain . . . even new students were announced in her large wizarding school.

"Ah, social butterfly? Well still, you might be surprised . . . what school do you go to anyhow?" Matt asked KayKay persistently.

"I go to a boarding school on the other side of the country. You wouldn't have heard of it." KayKay said simply. Matt was still walking backwards, facing her, which greatly blocked any view of Emily. "Excuse me," KayKay said crisply, putting her hands on Matt's shoulders and moving him to the side for a moment, "thank you."

It took only a moment for her to find Emily once Matt was out of the way. "Emily!" she called. "Emily, wait up!"

The shouts and laughter in the park were too loud, or else KayKay's voice was too soft. Whatever the reason, Emily didn't hear KayKay, and she continued the direction she was heading in, which incidentally, was for the Lazy River. Perhaps she hoped to catch a glimpse of KayKay while floating on a tube that circled the whole Water Park. Either way, she was gone before KayKay got to her, and she had no choice but to wait.

"Oh well." KayKay sighed, dropping her arms in defeat. "I suppose I have some time to kill now."

"I'd be happy to assist you in waiting" Matt offered all too readily. "If you don't mind."

"Well . . ." KayKay considered. "Alright."

"Cool. Here, let's find somewhere to sit." Finding a couple empty chairs quickly, he indicated one and bowed his head slightly. "Your seat, m'lady"

Not certain whether to groan or to chuckle at his odd behavior, KayKay wisely seated herself in silence. Matt pulled up a chair next to her and began the conversation.

"So, what brings you here today? Family outing?" he looked at KayKay inquisitively.

"A family outing?" KayKay laughed. "I'm sorry, but if you knew my family you'd ask how I got here alive and how I'd keep myself from being killed when I go home."

"That bad, huh?" Matt asked with a crooked grin that, to KayKay, was painfully similar to Harry's. "Well if you're not here for that, then what does bring you here?"

KayKay replied, "It's my birthday today. Sweet Sixteen, and my friend treated me to an escape from reality." KayKay laughed again, pleased that she was able to feel comfortable with someone so quickly. 

"Whoa, a true American, huh? Well, Happy birthday . . . and I'm correct in assuming that a birthday kiss isn't something you're hoping to receive?"

KayKay would have readily protested if it weren't for the fact that the grin on Matt's face clearly proved that he wasn't thinking of doing anything of the sort. So instead, she asked her own question.

"Are you here on a family outing?"

"Nah." Matt said casually. "I'm here on a job. Every Fourth of July, Valleyfair has tons of awesome fireworks and music . . ."

As Matt spoke, KayKay found herself studying him again. She nodded in reply to what he was saying, but she was barely hearing a word, caught up in her own thoughts.

Matt was interesting, that was a fact no one could argue. The expressive manner in which he spoke led KayKay to believe he was possibly involved in theatre at whatever High School he attended, or perhaps the Debate Team. He seemed to have an informed but not arrogant nature about him that suggested he was relatively smart, but that he didn't care. His eyes were lively and animated, which only further proved his eagerness.

Yes, he was eager, but not annoyingly so. Instead, it was actually rather charming. There was something not quite right about him . . . something KayKay couldn't quite figure out. It was a kind of feeling that he was hiding a big secret. It only served to make KayKay more interested in him.

" . . . So I get most of the day free. At seven o'clock though, I have to go start setting up for the concert. I'm sort of a . . . tech man, you could say. Do you like country music?"

"Country music? I love it!" KayKay exclaimed. "Why? Who's gonna be playing?"

"Oh, only Garth Brooks" Matt said, pretending to look bored but being betrayed by the sly grin spreading across his face. "I don't suppose you—"

"I _love_ Garth Brooks!" KayKay squealed. "Hey, why didn't Emily tell me?"

"Maybe because she wanted it to be a surprise?" a voice suggested from behind the pair. KayKay and Matt both turned around to see a drenched Emily standing with her hands on her hips. "Thanks a lot, dude."

"Whoa, sorry about that. I didn't know . . . 

"Chill out, I was joking. So, KayKay," Emily said to her friend with a fiendish grin, "aren't you going to introduce me to your new . . . _friend_?"

"Oh stop it!" KayKay exclaimed, swatting at Emily. She knew full well the implications of Emily's statement and they were not true. "This is Matt who is kindly talking with me because I couldn't find you because I was taken for first aid because I was banged up because I fell when Matt barreled into me because . . ." KayKay paused, " . . . because I must now be the queen of run-on sentences."

"Well, sorry I ruined the surprise." Matt said to Emily after their laughter had died down. "I'll make up for it, I promise. See you later, I hope." Matt added to KayKay, giving her a wink before walking away. KayKay watched after him slowly, wondering what on Earth her new friend had up his sleeve.

* * * * *

"Hey Valleyfair, are you ready to party?"

The crowd gathered near the music stage cheered loudly in response to the young man who had come onstage.

Cheering along with them was KayKay and Emily. KayKay looked up in mild shock at the large difference between this young man and the Matt she had met in the morning. He was wearing blue jeans, a white, western-style, button up shirt, black cowboy boots, and to top off the ensemble, a black cowboy hat.

In KayKay's mind, he looked like a perfect cowboy.

"Let me hear you!"

The crowd shouted louder, KayKay pulled along with.

"That's awesome. Now, I've been up here long enough, and I'm sure I'm not the one you came to hear. If you did, you can find me around back where I'll be on-call for tonight's performer."

As he said this he looked at KayKay in the first row and winked that adorable wink of his.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for Garth Brooks!"

The thunderous response as the famous country singer came out surpassed any previous noise. Garth Brooks jumped immediately into his first song, and KayKay watched as Matt slinked back into the shadows of the stage and then, presumably, through a door.

__

And I'm proud to be an American where as least I know I'm free . . .

Oh, it was the best birthday she'd ever had, KayKay decided. She and Emily had left the Water Park, seeking other rides and thrills . . . and goodness knows they found them. Over the day they went on at least two dozen rides . . . not to mention that they eventually went back to the Water Park and KayKay got to go down the slide she'd wanted to in the first place. She begged Emily to come with, but KayKay's friend simply shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but suicide isn't on the top of my list of fun things to do at Valleyfair" Emily had answered decisively. So KayKay had gone alone . . . and she had both hated and adored it at the same time. She didn't go on again though . . . she chose instead to go on the Raging Rapids tube ride, which was equally fun and much less scary. Afterwards, KayKay and Emily went on the lazy river, talked about nothing in particular, and glared when a group of boys almost tipped their tubes. All in all, it had been a wonderful day.

"Thank you! Thank you very much," Garth Brooks said, pulling KayKay back into the present as she realized he'd already finished one of his songs and was now talking to the audience. "Now, all of us here are American girls and American guys . . . but I've been informed that there's one girl in particular out there that is one more so than others. Everyone, please wish a happy Sweet Sixteen to Miss KayKay Determan! Where is our girl?"

KayKay was frozen, unable to reply, but that didn't stop someone else from speaking up for her. She realized with a start that Matt was back onstage, actually standing _next to _Garth Brooks. And he was pointing at her.

"Come on up, KayKay. Come on!" Matt urged quietly, gesturing for her to come as another song began.

"A very happy birthday to KayKay, and considering it's her sixteenth, I'll go out of my normal play list . . ."

__

" . . . You come on like a dream, peaches and cream 

Lips like strawberry wine 

You're sixteen, you're beautiful and you're mine . . ."

"Matt, if you think I'm about to get up on that stage, you have something else coming!" KayKay managed to say. "There is no way I'm about to get up there in front of everyone else!"

__

" . . .You're my baby, you're my pet 

We fell in love on the night we met 

You touched my hand, my heart went pop . . ."

"Please? I'll give you a cookie." He offered with a grin. KayKay shook her head in disbelief.

__

" . . . You walked out of my dreams and into my arms 

Now you're my angel divine 

You're sixteen, you're beautiful and you're mine . . ."

"I don't think so, Matt."

"Come on, please? Pretty please?" The way he was pleading was humorous. They were interrupted as Garth Brooks, who was listening to them now that it was a music interlude, took his hat off and tossed it down to KayKay. 

__

" . . . You're sixteen, you're beautiful, and you're mine 

You're sixteen, so beautiful, and you're mine 

You're sixteen, you're beautiful, and you're mine . . ."

As the stunned girl caught it and put it on her own head, she knew she was positively beaming. She still replied to Matt calmly, however.

"Read my rosy-pink lips. N-O" KayKay said firmly, but she knew she was grinning. As the song ended, Matt shrugged helplessly at the famous singer who was watching the exchange with amusement.

"She your girlfriend?" he asked Matt with a knowing look.

Matt looked at KayKay, and then back to Garth.

"One can dream"

* * * * *

"Ooh, That was _awesome_!" KayKay told Emily happily as they left the park. " I had the best time ever!"

"Whee" Emily replied, obviously not sharing her friend's enthusiasm. KayKay pouted.

"Well, excuse me for expressing my enthusiasm. I was just trying to help you understand how much fun it was!"

"I understand how much you loved it," Emily replied patiently as they turned down another path, this one void of anyone else, "by the other ten times you said so."

"I'm sorry, Emily. But this has just been the very best birthday of my life!" she exclaimed, happy again as she gave Emily a crushing hug. This seemed to change Emily's attitude somewhat.

"Aw, I'm glad you had a good time, KayKay." she replied, hugging her friend in return. "Now here, I'm gonna use the bathroom before we leave. You coming?"

"Nah," KayKay said with a wave of her hand, "I'd rather stay out here. Who knows, maybe look at the stars or something. You go on."

Emily went up the small parting path to the bathrooms, and KayKay watched after her for a moment before turning her face heavenwards. The stars twinkled merrily in the jet-black sky, like small candles flickering in a sacred sanctuary. They reflected in KayKay's chestnut eyes, until she closed them tightly.

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight," she murmured softly, the burning image of the very brightest star still fresh in her mind, "I wish I may, I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight."

In her heart, in the farthest depths of her very soul, a single, most blessed wish was uttered. It rang, repeated through her entire body, until her whole self was hoping, praying, _longing_ that this one simple fantasy come to reality. Taking care not to speak this, for even the simplest wish is bound to remain as such . . . a wish . . . if spoken aloud, the Earth seemed to be in momentary silence and tranquility. So quiet was it that KayKay's heart leapt in her chest when she felt someone's strong hands on her shoulders and heard a boy with an English accent speak.

"Making a wish, KayKay?"

"Ohmygod!" KayKay exclaimed in shock, her eyes flying open as she whirled around, "Harr—"

She stopped short in dismay. It was not Harry, but Matt. Again. She quickly realized that although she'd turned, Matt's hands had remained on her shoulders, so now she was almost in an awkward embrace with him. Ignoring the blush that quickly spread to her cheeks, she demanded of him, "Why did you do that? It's not nice to get my hopes up like that!"

"Get your hopes up?" Matt questioned with a chuckle. "Why KayKay, I didn't know you cared."

"Oh, nevermind, it's ruined now." KayKay sighed, looking away.

"What's ruined? The mood?"

"The wish" KayKay corrected immediately. "It's a long story anyhow. Just to forewarn you though, if you come after me with a fake English accent like that again, I will wound you."

"Ouch, so harsh art thou, m'lady. 'Twas merely an attempt to make you feel more at home." Matt replied apologetically.

"Whatever, Shakespeare. Did you sneak up behind me for a good reason, or were you simply trying to scare the daylights out of me?" KayKay questioned, her sudden hope and dashed dream still hanging in the front of her mind.

"Actually, yes," Matt said, speaking normally once more. "I wanted to wish you a happy birthday again, KayKay. You had a good day, I hope?"

"Yeah, it was great! And, ah . . . thanks for the whole concert thing. It _was_ embarrassing at first, but all in all it rocked. And," KayKay pointed to the cowboy hat on her head, "I have proof of it. I have to say that it was the best birthday I had. There's just one 

thing . . . "

"Yes?" Matt prompted.

"_You_ said that you were a technical man. Excuse me, but spokesperson of one of the best country singers alive isn't exactly technical crew."

"So, I was a bit vague in my explanation." Matt shrugged. "Go ahead, sue me."

KayKay laughed, then said, "You know, there's just one thing missing to make this the best day of my life . . ."

"A goodnight kiss?" Matt suggested with a charming smile.

"No, not a—" KayKay didn't have time to finish as Matt quickly bent forward and gave her the briefest of kisses. KayKay inhaled sharply, unconsciously taking a step back.

"I'm sorry, was I too forward?" Matt asked with concern. 

"No— I mean, yes— I mean . . . I gotta go!" KayKay exclaimed, turning quickly and dashing further up the path where Emily was just emerging from the bathroom. She didn't speak to Emily, just bit her lip in a vain attempt to hold back the tears starting to sting her eyes.

She felt as if she had just betrayed someone. Then again, _he_was to one to kiss _her_, KayKay reasoned with herself. She couldn't be blamed for the impulsive actions of a hormonal teenager. And what could clearly be seen was that she hadn't asked him to kiss her . . . she hadn't even wanted him to! He was being abrupt, and although KayKay could recall that many were like that in the States, taking things quickly, it was nonetheless too rash and sudden.

And beside that point that Matt was the guilty party, even if KayKay _had_ wanted to be kissed by Matt . . . which she hadn't . . . Wasn't it KayKay herself who had suggested to Harry that they move on? And hadn't he agreed? She was sure Harry wouldn't wait up for her, and probably didn't expect her to wait up for him . . .

. . . So why did she feel like such a cheater?

* * * * *

"Ugh, I am exhausted! I think I'll just fall asleep like this." Emily commented, sprawled across the hotel bed in a most uncomfortable way.

"I wouldn't suggest it" KayKay commented dryly, setting down her duffel bag, scrapbook, and guitar on her own bed. "I'll be back in a minute" she added, grabbing her duffel and heading to the small bathroom to change into pajamas.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," came Emily's muffled reply. KayKay sighed. She didn't feel quite so bad now that she'd had some time to calm down from Matt's actions, but she still felt a deep guilt inside, like she had willingly cheated on her boyfriend. Who wasn't actually her boyfriend per se, but still was a guy she once dated and trusted deeply. 

As she filled the sink with water to wash stinging chlorine and salty tears from her face, she delved deeper into her thoughts.

Harry had trusted her too. They'd both trusted each other. And now, even though they weren't technically dating, she felt she'd betrayed his trust again. Deep down, she knew it was because even though Harry had _said_ he'd move on, at her request, and even though she'd told herself that he wouldn't wait up for her, KayKay knew he wouldn't date again. At least, not for a long while.

__

I suppose, KayKay thought as she splashed her face with the water, clearing away both old and new tears, t_hat that's the reason why I like him so much._

He wasn't the type who'd dive right into another relationship. He was faithful and honest, and here she was, already been kissed. Perhaps she didn't request it, but it would never have happened if she hadn't been so familiar and open towards a guy who was obviously interested in her.

Bat KayKay believed that the biggest reason she felt so horribly guilty was because she knew that deep down, far inside her, she still loved Harry. It had only been proved earlier that night when she wished for nothing more than to be beside him again. That wish had come from the very center of her soul, and those kind of wished could never lie about your true feelings.

Which led her into another thought. It was odd for her to feel so connected to someone when she was just barely turned sixteen. Perhaps it was the knowledge of the powers, or even the powers themselves. It just felt like there was a predestined path for her, and that what she said or did would have little impact on what happened in her life. For all she knew, there could even be a prophecy saying as much . . . 

"Hey KayKay, did you drown in there?" Emily called. KayKay jumped in surprise at this sudden intrusion of her thoughts, but quickly shook it off and replied.

"No, unfortunately. I'll be right there." 

KayKay wiped her face dry with a towel, inspected herself in the mirror and, finding no traces of shed tears on her face, hung the towel back up and emerged.

Emily was still sprawled across her bed, but was propped up on her elbows and looking through what KayKay recognized to be the scrapbook Hermione had made for her. Emily looked up as KayKay sat down beside her.

"This is wicked cool," she grinned, "the pictures _move._ That is so freaky!"

KayKay couldn't help but laugh at her friend's fascination. "Yes, that they do." She replied, flipping to the next page.

Emily was a muggle, and probably shouldn't have been one to know about KayKay's magical qualities, but it was somewhat unavoidable. She'd been the one present when KayKay had opened her letter of acceptance to Escondito School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the pair kept regular correspondence during the year. Naturally, this wasn't possible from England, so KayKay simply wrote to Emily and forewarned her. That was how Emily had already known that she'd been to Hogwarts.

"Who's this?" Emily asked, pointing to one person in particular, "He's in almost every picture."

She was pointing to Harry. She was still near the beginning of the book, so there weren't sufficient pictures to illustrate their relationship.

"That's Harry,"" KayKay replied, almost dreamily, as the unsummoned ghost of a smile lit her face. "He is . . . I mean, he was," KayKay corrected, looking down at her hands, "my boyfriend."

"Oh? i_Oh/i._" Emily said, first curiously, then sadly in understanding. "I see. So _that's_ why you were acting so . . . different. Yeah, you must have really liked him" she confirmed, turning a page and seeing a picture of KayKay and Harry resting peacefully in each other's arms. "Do you miss him?"

"Only all the time," KayKay answered with a sigh, leaning back against the headboard of the bed. "You can't even _imagine_ how wonderfully sweet he is. If only . . ."

Emily looked at KayKay after she left her statement unfinished, letting it hang in the air. "If only what, KayKay?"

"If _only_ I could see him again. Even for a minute. I would do almost anything . . ." KayKay shook her head silently, and stood up. 

"It's been a long day . . . fun, but long . . . why don't we get some sleep?"

Emily nodded in agreement, not so much tired as realizing what a painful subject this had to be for her friend.

"Can I just ask you one more thing, though?" she asked as KayKay got into her own bed.

"Shoot."

"_Are _you going to see him again? Do you plan to?" Emily asked.

KayKay bit her lip in thought only briefly before answering decisively, "Yes. I am. I don't know when or how, but I will."

Neither of the two spoke after that, for the finality in which KayKay had stated her oath left no room for questioning. Silently, they switched off the lights and slipped slowly into a peaceful sleep, the radio playing a soft patriot's lullaby.

__

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,  
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?   
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,   
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?  
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air  
Gave proof through' the night that our flag was still there.  
Oh, say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave  
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?


	2. The Trial and Sentencing of Sirius Black

__

*~* Chapter Two: The Trial and Sentencing of Sirius Black *~*

5,000 miles, six time zones, two countries, and one ocean away from where KayKay slept with dreams of brighter days, the boy named Harry Potter was busy in anticipation of the current day. By the end of the day, he would know the fate of his godfather, Sirius Black, who was finally getting the trial he had been denied fifteen years prior, when he had first been blamed for the betrayal of Harry's parents and the killing of thirteen bystanders.

Harry was looking out his window at the over cast sky, but he wasn't seeing the gray clouds that obscured the sun. Inside, he was a nervous wreck, as he had been ever since the trial date had been set, but today was worse than ever. His mind was ablaze with worries. Everything rested on the outcome of this trial . . . not only Harry's future, but also Sirius' very soul.

"Boy!" an angry voice shouted up the stairs. "I want you down here right now!"

Harry sighed and pushed his chair back from the table he was seated at, rising and descending the stairs. The sun wasn't very far up in the sky . . . .so surely the trial verdict couldn't have been passed yet. That being the case, Harry suspected that he was wanted to do some menial chore.

Which was not why his Uncle Vernon wished to see him, as he soon discovered upon seeing the glower on his uncle's face and the item he was holding in his hand.

"Would you care to tell me," Vernon asked Harry, "what this is?"

It was an unopened letter. On the front of the envelope was neatly printed:

__

Harry Potter

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey, England

It looked like a normal letter in every aspect but the fact that it had a United States postmark and stamp. Harry knew immediately who it was from, and also knew immediately what his uncle was going to do.

"Well?" Uncle Vernon asked testily, shaking the letter in Harry's face.

"It's a letter." Harry answered, then, knowing this wouldn't be reply enough to satisfy his uncle, he continued, "From America. For me."

"And who in America would be writing to _you_? And how would they have come by this address?"

"I don't know, sir," Harry answered half-truthfully. He _didn't_ know how KayKay had come by his address . . . probably Hermione . . . but he did know that it was from her. Who else would have been writing to him?

"Well, let's find out, shall we?" he asked with malice, tearing it open. Dudley, who was standing behind his father, now listened with renewed interest. Vernon pulled the letter out, unfolded it, and scanned the first part quickly, a smirk crossing his face, before he cleared his throat and began to read it aloud.

__

"'Dear Harry,'" he sneered.

__

"'I question if I should even be writing to you. I know it would be easiest if we simply forgot about each other . . . for both of our sakes. But I can't think of not staying in contact with you, and either way, I have the feeling there are some things that need to be said after our not-so-good parting.

"'I wish to tell you that it broke my heart to say what I said to you . . . certainly I didn't want things to turn out as they did. But . . . oh, I don't know how to say what I want to say! I suppose I just want this to be as easy for you as possible . . . and as I have found so far, clinging to the past hurts more than letting go . . .'"

Vernon stopped his mocking reading there, lowering the paper.

"Do you have an idea who this is from now?" he asked.

"It's from my friend," Harry answered stiffly, reaching out in an attempt to grab the letter. His uncle jerked out of the way.

"By the sounds of it, it's from more than just a 'friend'" he said gruffly.

"Yeah, sounds like a _girl_ friend." Dudley said annoyingly from behind his father. "Who would want to be _your_ girlfriend?"

"What do you care?" Harry asked in reply, trying again to take the letter. "It doesn't matter!"

"Oh, it most certainly does, boy." Vernon said menacingly, pointing a shaking finger directly in Harry's face, "I will _not _have you messing around with girls and disgracing us even further! Now, you write to this . . . this girl . . . and you tell her that your little charade is over . . . or I shall write her myself!"

"We don't have a _charade_!" Harry said, his anger mounting. "Now give me my letter!"

"You had better watch your tone, boy," the large man replied lowly, "or else you may find yourself like you were a few years ago."

He shoved the letter at Harry, ordering him to go to his room. Harry didn't need telling twice, dashing upstairs and flopping on to his bed to read the letter for himself. He skipped the first part and read further along.

__

I'm sorry, I'm not even making sense! What I want to say is that . . . –here KayKay had scribbled something out— _Oh, I don't know! I just wish I could make sense of my own thoughts! The only clearest thoughts I have lately are of you, and if they are as jumbled as these . . . then you can only imagine what the rest are like._

Harry actually got the feeling that KayKay knew what she was trying to say, but couldn't bring herself to say it. He knew, because even her scribbled, random thoughts mirrored his own. He _knew_ that forgetting her was best . . . but he couldn't bring himself to do it. She was the kind of person you _couldn't_ forget. If nothing else, she'd be remembered as his first love . . . but probably by much else besides. By her laughter that sounded like crystal bells, by her smile that made him feel that he was appreciated as a person, not a famous name, by her naturally kind nature that seemed to make everyone feel comfortable.

As Harry continued with the letter, he made a simple, and obvious choice . . . he wasn't going to send the letter his uncle had ordered him to write. He couldn't, and he wouldn't. 

In his mind, that firmly settled the matter.

* * * * *

Harry unfolded and refolded the letter in his hands. It wasn't the same letter as he had received earlier that day . . . this one arrived by owl post a few days prior. Harry opened it again and read it, even though he'd read it so many times already that he knew it by heart.

__

Dear Harry,

Sirius' trial is set for July fifth at nine o'clock. It should be finished near three. Shortly after, either myself or the both of us, depending on the circumstances, shall be to your home to report the outcome.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

It was short, but very nerve-wracking. Harry looked at his clock impatiently. It was five o'clock already! 

"Where are they?" Harry muttered under his breath, pacing his room. Almost immediately, as if to answer his question, Aunt Petunia's shrill scream was heard from downstairs. Harry looked immediately to his door and crossed the room in a few quick strides, throwing it open and hurrying into the hall.

Only a few things made Harry's Aunt scream, with magic or magical sorts being the top among them. So, unless there was an alien spaceship landing in the backyard, a legion of mice scurrying across the floor, or a wild murderer in the living room, it was Dumbledore that had frightened her.

It seemed like the latter of these was the case, as Harry rushed down the stairs breathlessly to see the ancient headmaster trying to calm Petunia. And behind him stood . . . 

"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, running to his Godfather who immediately pulled him into a fatherly embrace. 

"Ah, Harry. There you are." Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eyes. "We were just looking for you."

"You are, aren't you?" Harry asked, practically jumping up and down. "You are, you must be!"

Sirius, wearing a smile as wide as Christmas simply replied, "Harry, get your things." He looked at Dumbledore, then back to Harry.

"We're going home."

* * * * *

"Wow," Harry said softly, "I didn't even know this part existed."

Harry and Sirius were at Gringott's, and Sirius had just showed Harry a smaller cell accessible from his main vault.

"Yes," Sirius commented leisurely, but wearing an amused grin all the same. "Despite Gringott's great reputation, your parents felt it wise to hide their heirlooms and such here in the hidden vault."

Harry still looked around at the items contained in the secret area, some looking centuries old. There were necklaces and other jewelry that could almost be mistaken for some belonging to an ancient queen . . . Also faded documents, foreboding novels, old-style weapons such as a few elegant swords in ornate scabbards, awards for service to the magical community and, so tightly tucked into the shadowed corner that Harry almost missed it, a small wooden box. It had a very simple appearance, it's fanciest adornment being the clasp holding it closed, which was very common in and of itself. It seemed so out of place in this historical treasury, that at first Harry questioned it's significance. However curiosity, as it always does, got the better of Harry and, dusting off the lid, he opened it.

The first thing Harry saw was a Victorian-style skeleton key. The handle was very intricate, and in Old-English lettering was inscribed, "G.H."

"Ah, you found it!" Sirius said proudly, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder and looking at the brass key.

"Why, what is it I found?" Harry asked, pulling his gaze from the object in his hand to look at his new guardian.

"Why, the key to your old home, of course!" Sirius said, gently taking the key and holding it up at eye level. "See those letters? That stands for 'Godric's Hollow', the home your parents lived in when they were newly married and _you_ were just a baby. I was thinking that, seeing how it is your old home, you would like to live there. When you graduate and want a home of your own, _I_ can move out, and you can begin your own life there . . ." Sirius stopped when he looked down at Harry, mistaking his happy silence as uncomfortable disagreement. "Unless, of course, you'd rather that we just had a whole different home . . ."

"No" Harry answered, shaking his head with a smile, looking again at his Godfather. "No, I'd like it this way."

Sirius's face broke into a broad grin at this, and he squeezed Harry's shoulder as the boy looked back into the box.

Harry's eyes rested on an emerald-green, velvet bag. It was small, and tied shut with a drawstring. He fumbled with it a bit before he was able to pull out the ring inside.

The ring was beautiful, with three diamonds and an engraved gold band that was thicker than most. It was obviously an heirloom, but it didn't have the appearance of something horribly old. Instead, it had elegance, and Harry could just picture it on his mother's finger.

"That was Lily's" Sirius said to Harry, almost as if hearing the thoughts in his mind, "Her engagement ring, if I recall correctly. It's very nice, isn't it? From what I gathered from James, it's been in the Potter family for years . . . oh, look at what time it is!" Sirius said suddenly, as if noticing his watch for the first time. "We should hurry, unless we want to keep Remus waiting . . ."

* * * * *

"Extra, extra, read all about it! Convicted murderer pardoned and reunited with godson!" a man said, shoving the Daily Prophet right in front of Sirius's head as he and Harry entered the Leaky Cauldron.

"Moony, get that out of my face," Sirius laughed, hitting it down and smiling at his friend. "How did they even get the paper out so quickly? The trial only ended two hours ago . . ."

"And you didn't expect it to be all over the wizard community? Trust me, two hours is ample time to spread the word." Remus replied, stowing the paper under his arm as he continued walking with Sirius and Harry towards the floo station.

"Moony, have you done the necessary . . . preparations?" Sirius asked as the three stepped up to the purchase line, ignoring the Floo officer who was gaping at him.

"Yes I have, Padfoot," Remus replied, paying the man enough for the small group to travel, "And I've made arrangements. Only us three and Dumbledore will be able to floo there."

"Excellent." Sirius said with a smile. He looked at Harry and said, "I set Remus to work long before my trial. I knew that even if I wasn't freed, you would be able to move in once you graduated . . . ah, thank you."

Sirius accepted to clay pot offered to him and took a handful of the floo powder, tossing it onto the flames, making them burst to green.

"After you, Harry," he said, indicating to the fireplace. Tentatively, Harry stepped into the flames.

"Godric's Hollow!" he called, remembering the name Sirius had mentioned in Gringott's. He heard Sirius and Remus follow close behind.

He was almost home.

* * * * *

Harry fell asleep quickly that night. There hadn't been _too_ much to do, since Remus took care of some of it for them . . . getting rid of the thick layer of dust coating everything, the broken tables, the empty bedrooms . . . however, Harry and Sirius were still busy until late, rearranging furniture, painting the chipped and faded walls, getting some essentials . . . bed sheets, food, plates and silverware . . . and Harry was exhausted. 

He fell asleep dreaming of his new home. There was a simple, cobblestone path leading from the street to the door, which had an elegant doorknocker that looked like a lion's head. When one entered the home, they'd see to their immediate left a cozy living room, with a fireplace, bookshelf, old piano, and comfortable armchairs. Like every other room in the house, it had a wooden floor, so there was also a large, soft rug spread out in the open area.

To the right of the doorway was a library, filled with hundreds of books, and not just the boring, educational type. There was any type of book somebody could have wanted in that room, and Harry knew that if Hermione came over, he'd have to put a lock on the door to keep her from curling up in one of the chairs and reading as many as she could.

Harry only realized after seeing the large expanse of the library that this house was much like the tents at the Quidditch World Cup and was far bigger inside than it was outside.

Further down the hall was a long flight of winding stairs going up to the top level, which included three bedrooms, two which were connected by a small bathroom, and a third with a master bathroom on the side. The top level also included a linen closet and a trapdoor on the ceiling. When the trapdoor was opened a ladder slid down, not very unlike the Divination Classroom. This ladder, however, didn't lead to a stuffy room that reeked of incense. Instead, there was a narrow, winding staircase, and another small room at the top of a tower not visible from outside. It seemed like the kind of room that a fabled princess would be found in, sitting at the window seat or the wooden desk and looking out the tower window, or reading a book off of the wooden shelf next to the canopy bed.

Downstairs again, at the end of the hall, was a kitchen. It was the classic, country-kitchen, with polished wooden countertops and a porcelain sink that faced a window draped with sheer curtains. Over the sink was a wooden pole with hooks to hang pots and pans from.

In the center of the rustic kitchen was a combination island and stove. On the opposite side of the large island were stools, creating a simple dining area, or one could go into the adjacent room with the simple chandelier and eat dinner in the dining room.

What was even better was an enclosed pool right off of the back porch. According to Sirius, it had magical settings besides its normal state. Those settings included taps that controlled bubbles like those in the Prefect's bathroom. Harry decided that he needed to learn how to swim properly.

This was the last thought on his mind before he drifted into sleep. He hadn't completed his mental tour. There was also a very large backyard that included a small Quidditch practice area. Definitely his father's doing, Harry had decided. Beyond that was a forest that Harry hadn't had a chance to explore, but from the outside it looked warm and inviting, very unlike the Forbidden Forest. 

And although it was an early one, Harry couldn't think of a better birthday present.


	3. Drills and Chills

__

*~* Chapter Three: Drills and Chills *~*

"Where the _hell_ were you?" KayKay was greeted as she entered her house around midday.

"I was . . . I was . . ." KayKay floundered, taken aback at Joe's unexpected explosion.

"Off enjoying yourself while we worked, were you? You make me sick." The man sneered as he took KayKay painfully by the arm and dragged her down the hall. He pushed her forcefully into the living room, causing her to stumble and fall back against the couch.

"It was my sixteenth birthday!" KayKay exclaimed, covering her fear with anger. Truth be told, she'd expected as much as she and Emily traveled home.

"You say that as if it's an excuse." Joe spat, pacing the room angrily, "Because of your selfishness, Sue and I had to get up at all hours of the night when Timothy started crying. Who did you expect to take care of him when he woke up? He certainly couldn't take care of himself!"

KayKay groaned inwardly. Timothy. One of the reasons that her return to Minnesota had been far from enjoyable. Timothy. Her cousin's newborn baby boy.

Timothy. The bouncing baby brat that KayKay's cousin made her take care of at any given moment. The only thing that had made her do it was knowing that the little baby wasn't responsible for his mother's stinginess.

But KayKay had to wonder why they decided to have a child if they weren't prepared to take care of it. What kind of parents _were_ they? Leaving the fate of their son to a teenager . . .

All these thoughts flew through KayKay's head at alarming rate, and so barely a moment had passed before KayKay had countered, "Well, heaven forbid that you should have to take care of your own son. Let's hope you treat him better than you treat me."

"Don't take that tone of voice with me, young lady! You are in no position to—"

"I don't think that going somewhere with a friend on my sixteenth birthday qualifies as selfish!" KayKay exclaimed, jumping up defiantly to stand and face her foe. "Every summer I come home. I help take care of the housekeeping, the meals, the yard work, _and_ I take on a summer job. Having _one_ summer day without work in practically ten years is not selfish. It seems to me that _you_ are the selfish one!"

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, KayKay knew she had gone too far. For most teenagers, this would hardly be considered an argument with their parents. But in this household . . . it was a full-blown war. Neither of the two would be backing down now . . . KayKay had both her pride and years of humble meekness to compensate for, and Joe had to defend his authority.

KayKay however, expecting him to defend his authority some way besides grabbing her guitar from her hand, didn't react in time to counteract the next thing that happened.

It was only when she saw and heard the splintering of wood against the armchair that KayKay's shocked state was shattered, shattered by a cry of rage.

__

"Joe!"

Unsummoned, a power fueled by furiousity blew Joe off of his feet and into the wall behind him. KayKay stumbled back as if she'd been struck, the anger vanishing almost as quickly as it had come, and being replaced by fear.

"Joe . . ." she stammered, circling behind the couch as if having it between them would help her, "Joe I swear, I didn't mean it . . ." 

Her worries weren't lightened when the man stood up slowly, growling as he did so.

"Joe, please, I'm sorry, I didn't . . . I didn't try to . . . it was an accident!" KayKay continued in anxiety, her voice jumping an octave. Her furious cousin-in-law was not subdued, however, and was quickly closing the distance between them, the couch being KayKay's only current protection.

KayKay decided to try her luck at making a run for it. Joe, obviously anticipating this move, was not caught off guard and cut off her escape, grabbing her tightly by the arm. KayKay closed her eyes as his hand flew, and even though she was prepared, the impact of the back of his hand against her face still made her head jerk back painfully. The taste of iron flooded her mouth as she bit the inside of her cheek.

"You cursed little wench," Joe hissed, his face a few inches from KayKay's. She was completely at his mercy now, his iron grip near impossible to escape. "I suppose you think you're clever, don't you?"

"No, really, I—"

"Don't talk back to me!" Joe shouted in her face, striking her again, "You've been treated too lightly and I think it's high-time that you learn some respect!"

* * * * *

KayKay sat silently on her makeshift bed in the attic, tears of regret sliding down her cheeks as she carefully cradled her guitar, one of her most cherished possessions . . . now in pieces. It had been among the few things that she had left of her deceased family, killed when she was but seven years old, and now it was destroyed.

Tasting a new flow of blood on her lips, KayKay wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, doing a slight double-take when she saw the great amount of fresh blood on her hand. Standing slowly, for much of her body ached, she crossed the small living area to her mirror and noticed she had a nosebleed.

"Big surprise" she muttered, searching for something to stem the flow of blood. "I wouldn't be shocked if it was broken . . ."

Locating a box of tissues, KayKay pulled out a handful and pressed them to her nose.

"I can't believe this . . . no, actually, I can. What I can't believe is that Dumbledore thought that living here was better for me than staying with Remus . . ." she said herself as she picked up the remnants of the guitar and put them in her school trunk.

What was it Dumbledore had said again? Oh yes. _" Despite what either of you think, things are best the way they are . . ."_ who was he kidding? Staying with a man who needed Wolfsbane potions once a month was far safer than staying here . . . unless by "safer" people actually meant "more likely to give you a concussion" . . .

KayKay flopped back onto her bed with a sigh and buried her face into her pillow, forgetting about her bleeding nose.

Why did bad things have to happen to good people? KayKay admitted that she had her bad points . . . but she tried, really tried, and that was more than could be said about many people she knew. Ron most certainly didn't deserve to be taunted because of his family's financial state . . . while they were rather wild, the Wesley's were friendly too. And Hermione . . . so nice, so helpful . . . yet made fun of just because her parents weren't magical. And Megan . . . she was a great friend, yet she had no family at _all_. Much like Harry. He always helped others, stayed away from trouble, yet he was put in the care of cruel guardians as well . . . although after Sirius's trial, much of that could change. If Sirius was free, Harry still wouldn't have the family every kid deserved, but he'd be far better off. KayKay momentarily wondered when Sirius's trail was set for and how it would all turn out.

Yes, so many nice people she knew had a horrible time . . . and it was the cruel people, the people who had everything, that made sure of it.

It just wasn't _fair!_ But then, who ever said life was fair? Truthfully, it wasn't. It never was.

Which was only proved further as KayKay heard her door creak open.

"Hey," KayKay heard her cousin Sue's voice say softly, "mind if I come in?"

KayKay was in such a state of shock at being addressed so kindly that she quickly answered, "Yeah, sure"

"Oh Kayleigh!" Sue admonished, pulling her pillow away and handing her a box of tissues in its place. "Please try to be a bit civilized!"

As KayKay numbly took some more tissues, she briefly wondered if she was asleep. For as long as she remembered, Sue had never called her "Kayleigh". The idea of her being in a slumber was quickly vanquished, however, when she felt the sharp pain that shot up her arms when she moved.

"And for goodness sakes girl, you tip your head _forward_, not back!" her cousin continued in exasperation, pushing KayKay's head into the proper position. "Honestly, didn't you ever learn that?"

"Not really, considering that I'm only given a bloody nose here, and normally the two of you don't care how I treat it either way" KayKay replied, her icy tone spoiled somewhat by the nasal quality of her voice due to a blood-saturated nose.

The look on Sue's face turned to one of anger. "Why you—"

She halted herself and took a deep breath. The frosty smile she now donned didn't fool KayKay one bit.

"Listen, I know that you must feel somewhat . . . overwhelmed this summer. Which is why I took the initiative to sign you up for an activity that should last you until that stupid— I mean, until that _special_ school of yours begins again."

"You're kidding" 

"Why, not at all. It's a magical camp for teenage girls. Said to build character as well." Sue continued, her smile taking on a sly quality as she handed KayKay a brochure.

KayKay took the small informative packet but was too shocked to notice the expression on her cousin's face. The very idea of Sue doing something like this for her was amazing in and of itself. Plus, it was a magical camp. KayKay had to admit, that was a consideration she never would have expected . . . 

Until, of course, she saw the name of the camp.

"_ 'General Norwood's Boot Camp for Incurably Criminal Witches' ?_" KayKay exclaimed furiously, jumping to her feet. "You have _got_ to be kidding!" The very idea of being sent to a boot camp . . . it wasn't like KayKay was a juvenile delinquent!

"Pack your school things" Sue replied loftily, cleverly avoiding the interrogation, "You'll be going straight from camp to school. You'll leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? But I have a job that starts on Friday! If I don't even get a chance to explain the situation to them, they'll never hire me again!" KayKay half yelled, half whined as she threw the brochure down on her bed.

"Tough" Sue replied as she stood smoothly and glided to the doorway.

"You can't do this to me!" KayKay protested. Sue paused halfway out the door and turned back.

"Just watch me," she said in self-satisfaction. As the door slammed behind her, KayKay fell back onto her bed in dismay. 

__

Just look at what you've done now, Dumbledore, KayKay thought angrily, _Just look at what you've done!_

* * * * *

KayKay spent the remainder of her day sulking in her room. After having flipped through the brochure, she was more certain than ever that this camp would be utter drudgery. From the looks of it, the military area covered a vast type of terrain in a small area— forest, mountain, tundra, desert, plain and bog— although KayKay was at a loss to what area of the world would host so many different environments. It could of course be done using a considerable amount of magic, but that would be hard to conceal from muggles. The only place of possibility that came to KayKay's mind was somewhere in Antarctica that was void of scientific research laboratories.

Either way, KayKay still felt that this General Norwood had _far_ too much time on his hands. 

And on that branch entirely, what was he even a General _of_? As far as she knew, Aurors were the standing "army" of the magical world, and they didn't use titles such as Private, Lieutenant, and General. That would have to mean that _General_ Norwood made his career of working with muggles. On his front cover, there was a small postscript that read _'Magic and discipline to conform young witches of quality'_. If he really _was_ a muggle general, that would make him a downright hypocrite.

Unless, of course, "General" was just being used to male him look good to the irrational people like Sue who were looking to whip their charges into shape.

In that case, he'd be an imposter and therefore in treason with the government.

Or it could be a different case entirely. He could actually be a member of a wizard army not related with the government, but being something of a cult or dark organization.

So Norwood was a hypocrite, imposter, or mercenary.

How comforting.

* * * * *

"Name?" 

"Uh . . . Kayleigh Determan?" KayKay replied to the brawny man looking down at her as she craned her neck to look at the list on the clipboard he was carrying. Feeling his glare, she looked up nervously to see a scowl on the man's face.

"I said, NAME!" he barked, so suddenly that KayKay jumped back and stood rigid.

"Kayleigh Determan" she replied quickly, looking more through the man than at him. Still, she didn't fail to see him raise his eyebrow as if expecting more.

"Sir." She added.

The man . . . or boy, rather, because he didn't appear much older than KayKay . . . seemed to snort silently, and an amused smile was visible in the twinkling of his eyes.

"Blood?" he inquired simply in extreme contrast to his last order. This only served to confuse KayKay more . . . not only the question, but how he asked it. Perhaps he wasn't so high up to order others around, and was just playing with KayKay.

"Blood?" KayKay echoed. 

"Blood! Pure, half, muggle, what?" he exclaimed impatiently. KayKay's first instinct was to recoil, but she thought better of it. She wasn't sure why, but she had a need to prove herself just as tough as this guy.

"Muggle!" she shouted back just as forcefully, "Although I fail to see why it matters!"

The emotion on the young soldier's face was not indignant, as KayKay had expected. Instead, it had a bit of something like admiration and a teasing demeanor.

What followed seemed to be something similar to a staring match, the difference being that it was a test of bravery and worth, not glare.

"Gender!"

"Female!"

"Date of birth!"

"July fourth, 1982!"

"Home state or province!"

"Minnesota, United States!"

"Magic School!"

"Escondito in California, except last year it was Hogwarts of England!"

The interrogation appeared to be over, and KayKay and the boy glared at one another, the effect somewhat ruined when he winked.

They didn't notice that everyone else was staring at them too.

"Here's your uniform, your knapsack, and your dog tags. Wear them at all times" he ordered, handing her a pile of clothing, backpack, and two metal identification plates on a metal chain. "Proceed through that gate," he pointed to an opening in the tall chain-link fence, "and they will tell you what to do.

"And, by the way," he added in an undertone, putting a hand on her shoulder the stop her in passing, "while I think you have great potential as an Auror, It may be best not to speak to the General like that."

He then gave a mock-salute, which KayKay returned. When she turned away and dropped her hand, she hid a wince, still feeling the place he had rested his hand on her shoulder.

What was the problem with guys her age? 

* * * * *

"Take any . . . _necessaries_ out of your trunk, put them in your knapsack, then put the trunk on that table over there" a strict, elderly woman ordered to KayKay and the two girls that had gone through the gate at the same time as her. "The camp provides paper and owls to deliver letters to family overseas, food and jewelry is strictly forbidden, as are cosmetics. That should narrow your choices considerably. When you are finished, proceed to the lavatories and get into uniform."

The gaunt woman then turned sharply on her heel and marched away, presumably to inform more new arrivals of their instructions. KayKay busied herself in putting a few items into her knapsack quickly. She had her hand on top of the trunk to close it when she looked at her scrapbook from Hermione and paused. There was no rule the woman mentioned about not having photos of family . . . and her friends _were_ like family to her.

She glanced again at her already full knapsack. Surely she could find a way to fit one more thing . . .

. . . Especially seeing how it was charmed to hold items much larger than its size, as KayKay discovered upon shoving the leather photo album in with ease.

__

Just like Mary Poppin's carpet bag, she thought to herself, zipping it up and shouldering it.

Looking around, she saw the other girls already halfway down the path. Hurrying to catch up with them, KayKay struck up casual conversation.

"Hey, my name is Kayleigh, but you might as well call me KayKay. What are your names?"

"Well, _somebody_ is perky. Where's the cheerleading squad, preppy?" the first girl sneered. She had golden blonde hair streaked with dusty brown lowlights and her crystal blue eyes glittered with malice as she looked at KayKay. This would-be bratty girl undoubtedly looked down on most girls, but as both she and KayKay were somewhat tall for their age, the two looked eye-to-eye. Still, the girl gave the pretense of staring down by the lofty and confident way she carried herself.

"Well, you'll excuse me for making a half-attempt at being polite" KayKay replied, her gaze turning dark. "I'll remember next time that pleasantries are a waste of time in the case of classy savages such as yourself."

"Ay, I like that one," the second girl chuckled to the first, "the lass has a worse bite than ye do!"

The first girl glared at the dark-haired Scott briefly before looking back at KayKay and grabbing hold of the dog tags dangling from her neck.

As she was jerked towards her by means of the necklace, KayKay exclaimed, "What do you think you're doing!?"

The girl didn't answer, simply read the tag quickly before looking at KayKay with a sneer again, one eyebrow raised.

"So, you're a mudblood . . ." She said quietly with an air of superiority. The girl swung the dog tags back so they whipped around KayKay's neck, and left with a laugh of scorn.

The second girl looked after her a moment before looking back to KayKay.

"Name is Melody, ye can call me Mel if ye like. Don't mind Madison, the lass is ruddy wicked if ye ask me. By the way, yer accent sounds English, ye from those parts?"

"No, I just was an exchange student there last year. I normally live in the United Sates, but I suppose I picked up a bit of an accent when I was there." KayKay answered Melody.

She nodded slowly, then said quite suddenly, "I'd suggest against ye talking friendly too much. Ye'll find most the rest of us won't take too kindly teh it."

With this piece of information, Melody hurried down the path, and all KayKay could do was sigh and follow.

It was going to be a long summer.

* * * * *

"Up twenty three, up twenty four, come on Privates, keep with the pace!" 

KayKay failed to see how doing umpteen pushups would help her be better at magic. However, that was how _everything_ at camp had been. Barely any magic work, but a bombardment of physical work. Just earlier that day, they'd gone up to the bluffs to do stepping aerobics . . . _stepping aerobics!_ Like it was some sort of fitness gym, not a boot camp. Climbing the bluffs was the least of her worries though . . . they had trudging through swamps, marching in formation, and going over obstacle courses worthy of the National Guard. 

Gritting her teeth, KayKay ignored the burning sensation spreading from her arms to her abdomen and thought to herself, _A hundred and five . . . three hundred and thirteen . . ._

It was much more gratifying if she counted what it felt like, not what it was.

KayKay used some of her precious energy to glance over at Madison. She hid a smirk at the snobbish girl's obvious struggle.

KayKay knew she was being a brat, but she couldn't help it! The pureblood was worthy of Slytherin as far as she was concerned. From what she'd found out in her first three weeks of camp, Madison was from the East Coast . . . her parents were millionaires, as she constantly seemed to flaunt inconspicuously, and the girl was simply a spoiled brat because of it . . . you know the type. The kind that always wants the best, but despite having everything, they treat the world as their enemy. Simply put, she was a rebel without a cause. Her parents, being fed up with the girl's attitude, decided to send her to boot camp while they took their summer vacation . . . aboard the family yacht, as Madison _constantly_ complained missing out on. 

"Atten-tion!"

KayKay was snapped quickly from her vagrant thoughts as the rest of the group stood up, giving General Norwood —a tall man with graying hair— full attention.

"At ease. You have thirty minutes for dinner. Go."

The girls didn't need further invitation. The majority departed immediately for the mess hall, but KayKay split from the group, going to the falconry barn. The only time girls were given to write letters was during mealtimes, so most simply chose not to. But KayKay had saved a roll from lunch in the pocket of her uniform and she desperately needed contact with the outside world, so she decided to be one of those select few.

Opening a door on creaky hinges, she slipped inside the musty barn. It was so out of place in this area of strict regulations and procedures that KayKay felt as if she was stepping into a new world.

Instead of being greeted by the soft hooting of many owls, there was simply the silence of falcons in the rafters. KayKay assumed it was an Army thing. She pulled a chair up to a simple desk and took a piece of the boot camp's letterhead paper, brushing the end of the hawk feather against her chin as she considered who to write to.

Not Joe and Sue, certainly. Megan, while a good choice, couldn't get mail. For some reason, owls never seemed to find the place. She therefore doubted a large bird of prey could either. Ron she didn't know as closely as the others, and she was unsure of what reaction Hermione's parents, dentists, would have upon seeing such an unfamiliar bird swoop into their sitting room. Harry . . . well, he would be an all right choice, she supposed . . . but his Aunt and Uncle may not take kindly to a Falcon either. Remus— no, no, no, although she trusted him, she didn't want a mistake with his transformations to cause an injured bird or missing letter. She'd barely met Sirius, so . . .

Harry it was. Who knew, maybe he was already in Sirius' care by now. And if he 

wasn't . . . well, she chose not to think about that.

Dipping her quill into the blue inkwell, she carefully began.

__

July 28

Dear Harry.

I'm not sure if my first letter even reached you or not, or if you replied. You see, a few days after I sent it, my cousin sent me off to . . . camp_._

Boot camp.

JEEZ, you'd think I was a FELON or something! A girl simply goes and has a BIT of fun with her friend on her sixteenth birthday, and her guardian signs her up for "General Norwood's Boot Camp for Criminal Teenage girls",_ blah, blah, blah . . . ruddy Norwood. _

I'm sorry, I'm done ranting. I'm wondering: How are you? When is Sirius' trial? If it's already passed, how'd it go? Oh I hope it goes (went) good!

Harry . . . will you do something for me? 

Tell Remus that I'm—

No. Don't tell Remus. He can't really do much, and I don't want him to worry. In fact, I don't want YOU to worry either, but I had to have contact with SOMEONE outside of this crazy place. Eeny-meeny-miney-mo, tag, you're it!

Ugh, Harry, you wouldn't BELIEVE some of the jerks over here. I hate to say that you appear to have some competition . . .

KayKay though for a moment and quickly crossed out the last paragraph. For some reason, it didn't seem like something to put in a letter to a friend . . . a close friend . . . an ex-boyfriend who was a friend . . . whatever he was. KayKay couldn't be sure. 

__

Please, reply as soon as you can. This bird can fly overseas (don't know if that's necessary or not, seeing how I haven't the slightest clue of where continentally I'm even LOCATED) and it will wait for you to write a response to me. Please tell me about something, ANYTHING . . . ramble if you please, just anything to get my mind away from here!

Forever and for Always,

KayKay

* * * * *

"What do you think you're doing, Determan?"

KayKay gasped and dropped her scrapbook. It was a few nights after she had sent a letter off to Harry, and at this time of the night, she hadn't figured anyone would be up.

"Aurgh, turn that flashlight _off_ Jacobs, you're going to blind me!" she exclaimed upon coming face-to-face with Madison's bright flashlight. 

"Oh, what a pity that would be, too." Madison sneered from her bunk above KayKay's. "We'd then have a blinded Mudblood walking around camp. More a pity, they'd try to correct the problem before I'd even get a chance to watch you walk off of a cliff somewhere"

"What do you want?" KayKay said in exasperation.

"I see you have a photo album there. Rule number thirteen: you cannot have possession of anything but the essentials. You're going to get it from General Norwood" she said with a smug grin, sliding off of her bunk, flashlight still in KayKay's eyes.

"Oh yeah?" KayKay countered, grabbing Madison's wrist and jerking it so that the flashlight beam was in Madison's face, "Well, rule nine is no getting out of bed after lights out."

"Get your _hand_ off of me!" Madison exclaimed in disgust, yanking her wrist out of KayKay's grasp and pointing a finger of warning at KayKay's face. "You're lucky you're not going to be at Hogwarts this year, or I'd make your life there a living hell." 

"What _are_ you talking about? You go to the Salem Magic Academy." KayKay scoffed.

"That's what you think. My family tends to move around a lot, and this year it's Hogwarts for me. Oh, but don't worry, Determan. I'll be sure to take good care of Potter for you." Madison replied with a wicked grin.

"I'm sure I have no _idea _what you're talking about." KayKay replied. She had never told anyone here about Harry, and she was certain Madison was just taking wild stabs at nothing.

"Oh I think you do, Determan." She said forebodingly, holding up KayKay's scrapbook. "I really think you do."

With this piece of sentiment, she tossed the book carelessly onto KayKay's lower bunk and climbed back up to her own, switching her flashlight off as she did so. At least a minute had passed after both girls had gotten into bed before Madison spoke again.

"To bad your precious Potter won't be around to save you when the Death Eaters come, Determan."

"What are you babbling about _now_, Jacobs?" KayKay groaned, rolling over, "Haven't you shut up yet?"

"I wouldn't be quite so nonchalant if I were you. Haven't you heard? More attacks by the Dark Lord. Killed half a wizard village, as well as two Muggles and their baby. Mudbloods will be next, Determan. Are you really ready to kiss your life goodbye? There are Death Eaters a lot closer to you than you think. You may want to watch your back."

KayKay felt a chill run down her spine. Madison's threat may have been just to scare her, but she was right. Death Eaters were _everywhere_. They had wives, husbands, children even. Who could say . . . some of the girls sleeping in that very cabin could be children of Death Eaters _or _even Death Eaters themselves.

Nobody was safe from Voldemort, KayKay realized. 

She shivered from fear once more and turned over, trying to get some sleep. So far, all this camp had been about was army drills and late-night chills.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey there everyone, this is yours truly speaking. I just want to say **Leah: **Thanks bunches for reviewing! Finding motivation to get the chapters up is much easier when you know someone is reading! * big smiles *

I also tentatively request that if you are reading that you review, even if all you say is "Yo". You have _no_ idea how much I'd appreciate it!

Well, until the next chapter is up: Bye!


	4. Growth of Years, Growth of Tears

__

*~* Chapter Four: Growth of Years, Growth of Tears *~*

"Hey birthday boy!" Sirius exclaimed, sitting down on the edge of Harry's bed with a slight bounce, "What, are you going to sleep all day?"

Harry yawned, stretched, and blinked a few times to clear the sleep from his eyes. He looked at Sirius who by all means looked more excited about Harry's birthday than Harry was.

Then again, Harry didn't know Sirius was up to something.

"Hey Sirius" he said drowsily, propping himself up on his elbows as he studied his godfather, "what time is it? You interrupted a good dream."

It was a rather nice dream, actually. He was sitting at the island in the kitchen downstairs, reading the Daily Prophet. Across the room, a light breeze was blowing through the open window, making the curtains sway and the copper pots clank together harmoniously.

At the sink, a tall, slender woman stood, looking out of the window. Every now and then, Harry would look up from the paper at her and smile, even though her back was to him.

It all left him with a sense of peace, of tranquility. And so, when a young child came on the scene, wrapping his arms around the woman's waist in a small hug and looking up at her with a happy grin, he felt even more pleased. The little girl suddenly gave a shriek of laughter as the woman scooped her up in her arms and twirled, skirts swirling, hair flying, and face smiling proudly as she slowed and turned to Harry, opening her mouth to say something . . . 

. . . Which was when he woke up.

"Sorry" 

"No, it doesn't matter," Harry said, stifling another yawn. "But what time is it?"

"It is . . . a quarter until ten," Sirius answered, briefly consulting his watch. "How about some breakfast? I'll start cooking, and you can come down when you're ready . . . What do you want?"

"Well, what can you make?"

"I can make toast, and cereal, and . . . toast" Sirius replied, somewhat apologetically. "Oh wait, and I can also make sandwiches. Some sandwiches."

"Cereal and sandwiches sound good" Harry said encouragingly. "Go ahead, I'll be right down, just let me get dressed."

Sirius nodded with a smile that seemed a little suspicious to Harry. Shaking away the thought, he changed out of his pajamas and tried (in vain) to get his hair under control. He didn't see why he bothered. The more he tried, the worse it got.

Abandoning the comb, Harry left his room and went downstairs, taking the steps two at a time. Going quickly down the hall to the kitchen, he pushed the door open.

"Sirius? Sirius, where'd you go?" Harry called upon finding the kitchen empty.

Passing the counter, he glanced down at the Daily Prophet, dismissed it as unimportant, and pushed open the swinging door to the dining room.

"Sirius?"

"SURPRISE!"

Harry almost fell backwards at the explosion of greetings. In the dining room stood not only Sirius, but Remus, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, and Hermione as well. There were presents piled on one corner of the table, and wonderful smelling food on the other. Harry recognized some of Mrs. Weasley's food trays.

"Happy Birthday, Harry! Mum would have come, but she had to go with Dad to some meeting at the Ministry. She did send some food over though . . . "

"Good thing, too," Sirius confided to Ron and Harry, "I couldn't cook anything special if my life depended on it . . . "

Hermione popped up out of nowhere. "Oh Harry, when I saw the news in the Daily Prophet, I was so happy! Congratulations, Sirius!" she said in a rush as she gave both Harry and Sirius a hug.

"Thanks Hermione" Sirius grinned.

"Oy! When do we get to eat the food, Mr. Black, Sir?" Fred called across the room.

"Right now is fine," he laughed, gesturing to some plates, "Go on, eat up"

Needing no further prompting, the group quickly filled their plates with pancakes and sausage links, eggs and hash browns.

"We should probably sit outside," Remus suggested, looking at the dining table crowded with food and gifts.

"Wow Harry," Ron commented as the legendary trio went outside and sat on the edge of the deck, "this house is brilliant! It's so . . . so . . . well, great!"

"It's very pretty," Hermione agreed, looking around the yard. "Is this where your parents lived?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "I just love it here. The attic, the library, the Pitch . . ."

"You have a library?" Hermione asked at the same time as Ron asked, "You have a _Quidditch Pitch_?"

"Yeah. Maybe we can fly later . . ."

The group lapsed into silence for a bit, concentrating on breakfast rather than on speaking. 

"Hey Ron . . ."

"Yeah Harry?" the redhead replied.

"What's with the hat?" Harry had been wondering this for a while now, considering that Ron wasn't one to wear baseball caps.

"Oh, nothing" Ron shrugged in reply. "Just . . . felt like wearing it, I suppose."

* * * * *

"Go on, open it Harry" George urged. Harry looked at Fred and George warily. He wouldn't put it past them to booby-trap the gift.

"Come on, we didn't curse the _box_," Fred insisted, "promise."

Eyeing the twins suspiciously one more time, Harry tore off the wrapping paper and lifted the cover of the box. Inside was a large assortment of Ton-Tongue Toffees, Canary Creams, Fake Wands, and many other items Harry didn't recognize but were obviously pranks of Fred and George's own making.

"Did you invent _all_ of these?" Harry asked in surprise, lifting up what looked like a stick of chewing gum.

"Yes, they did." Ron answered for the twins.

"Yeah, and we've pre-tested them _all_, haven't we, Ron?" George grinned at his younger brother.

"Yeah, yeah, you've tested them all." Ron grumbled, pulling off his hat. The room burst into laughter at the sight of Ron's red hair tipped with purple, magenta, and green. "On me, mostly."

"Hey, looking good there, Ron!" Remus laughed. 

"Wow, thanks you guys!" Harry said, looking at the items once more before closing the box again. 

He had opened his other gifts already; a book, _Famous Quidditch Plays and Their Uses_, from Ron (it would come in quite handy this year), a large assortment of colored ink and writing quills including quills that corrected spelling as they wrote and black ink that turned red if a fact was wrong from Hermione, plus a big bag of Honeydukes sweets from Ginny. 

"This year is going to be plenty interesting, I can tell." Harry added to the twins with a grin.

"We wouldn't have it any other way," Fred said with a wink. Everyone laughed again, and Ron asked, "So Harry, fancy giving us a tour of your house?"

The others began to nod quickly, obviously hoping for the same.

"All right, then" Harry agreed, standing up from where he was seated at the table, "let's go."

* * * * *

A chorus of "Goodbye!" and "Happy Birthday, Harry!" and "See you at 9 ¾!" was the commonly heard farewell at Godric's Hollow that evening as everyone prepared to Floo home. After having gone on a tour (Harry was not surprised at the need to drag Hermione from the Library), the group went out to play a bit of Quidditch. They were happily surprised when Harry got his birthday present from Remus and Sirius; a Quidditch chest containing the balls necessary for a good game. The rotated positions and while Harry remained the best at seeking, Hermione proved to be a fair Keeper, and Ginny, for all her apparent frailty, made a tough Beater.

The night closed with swimming in the large pool and eating birthday cake. Harry couldn't have had a happier birthday, he was certain of it.

"And now Harry, we have one more gift for you." Sirius said when he, Harry, and Remus were the only people remaining. He picked up a small package wrapped in old, brown paper. Sirius looked at it fondly for a moment, then handed it to Harry, who took it and carefully unwrapped it.

It appeared to be an old journal. The cover was made of red leather, and the clasps were tarnished and gave out a small groan as Harry opened the book. He read the first page and then, with widening eyes, flipped through the rest of the book, glancing at the handwritten pages quickly in awe. He finally found the ability to speak.

"This is—"

"The book we wrote to keep track of our progress in becoming Anamagi, yes." Sirius nodded with a grin. "Do you think we'd do all of that and not write down what we'd done? If you follow the directions, you and your friends can become Anamagi too."

Harry gaped at the book, then at Sirius, then again at the journal. All the pages were written in either Sirius' or James' hand, with a few notes by what Harry recognized as Peter's handwriting.

Remus had looked at Harry and, obviously feeling a need to break the silence, put a hand over the pages Harry was reading with rapt interest.

"Now Harry," Remus said when Harry looked up at him, "as your current friend, I feel glad to give this to you. However, as your future teacher, I warn you that if you are caught with this at Hogwarts, it will have to be confiscated. Understood?"

Harry nodded quickly and Remus, with grin, clapped him on the shoulder.

"What are you waiting for, then? Go ahead, read away, that way you can start the magic as soon as you're at Hogwarts!"

Harry grinned and jumped up, giving Remus and Sirius both a hug before going quickly out of his room with the intent of reading the journal cover to cover.

"Are you sure it was wise to give him that? I agree, he loved it, yet . . ."

"Moony, you worry too much. He's a smart kid, and with Hermione helping him out, what could go wrong?"

Their voices faded as Harry went through the kitchen. He was almost to the hallway when he stopped and backtracked to the counter where the Daily Prophet lay unread.

Harry wasn't one to read the Prophet often, but today he felt an unexplainable urge to pick up the paper and flip through the articles. He looked down at the rolled-up post with interest a few moments before grabbing it and continuing his hurried journey up to his bedroom. Putting the journal down on a bedside table, Harry flopped down on his bed and untied the string that confined the newspaper and unfolded it.

"No . . . no . . . boring . . ." Harry muttered, flipping through the first few pages, anxiety mounting as he looked at headline after headline. 

__

MURDERS IN THE MIDWEST: YOU-KNOW-WHO, OR DARK WIZARD WANNABE?

Harry stopped short upon reading the title. It was a very small article, but he knew this was what he was looking for. He didn't know how he knew, but he decided to leave that feeling for later consideration.

__

Since the return of You-Know-Who late last June, his attacks have been centered mainly in Western Europe, most particularly England. However, a recent attack in the mid-western area of the United States looks suspiciously to be the work of You-Know-Who.

At an unspecified time earlier this week, the wizard village of Saliente was attacked, and half the population was either fatally injured or killed by the Avada Kedavra Curse. Casualties approximated 65.

Not only Saliente, but in what appeared to be a random attack some thirty miles away, more magical deaths occurred. Those killed in the random attack were two muggle adults and a youth. The victims have not yet been identified.

Could You-Know-Who be expanding his attacks? In his reign fifteen years ago, he had stretched his terror as far as northern Africa and eastern North and South America. Perhaps he's working faster than we had anticipated. Then again, it could be an imposter. Certainly, look-alike attacks were common fifteen years ago. Is it a long shot to assume that the same is happening now? Only time can tell.

Harry lowered the Daily Prophet slowly. Two muggle adults and a youth! Voldemort didn't lead random, selective attacks without reason . . .

He looked at the paper again.

"The mid-western United States . . ." Where was Minnesota again? Why didn't he pay more attention in Primary School Geography!?

But no . . . she couldn't be dead, she _wouldn't_ be dead . . . Dumbledore would have told him straight off. But Harry couldn't help but wonder . . .

An unwanted shiver ran up his spine. The attack had been Voldemort's doing, he was sure of it. But had the youth that died been KayKay?

As the article said, only time could tell.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

__

August 14

Dear Harry,

Why don't you write to me? I must have sent half a dozen letters by now . . . have I made you angry somehow? Or rather . . . are you the sane one of the pair of us, and realize that I may simply be hindering the healing by writing? Oh, I wish I wasn't so confused!

Well, army life is as torturous as ever. Norwood is pushing us even harder than normal, and everyone is on edge. The snarky little Miss Perfect, more commonly known as Madison Jacobs, keeps parading the fact that she's a Pureblood, has millions of galleons, and will be attending none other than Hogwarts this fall, due to her family's tendency to move around on her father's business.

Honestly, she and Malfoy deserve each other.

But far beside that tangent, how was your birthday? I just recently remembered that I'd forgotten to ask, and I assure you now that if I'd had the option, I'd have tried to get you a gift.

My greetings will have to do. Oh, and my warning to be on the lookout for—"

"And what is Private Determan doing tonight instead of going to dinner? Why, she must be writing a letter to her guardians."

KayKay jumped a mile, tipping over her chair in her rush to stand at attention for General Norwood. The menacing man took the half-finished letter from table and glanced over the first few lines.

" 'Dear Harry' " he mocked, starting to read it aloud, " 'Why don't you write to me? I must have sent half a dozen letters . . .' "

He threw the letter, along with seven KayKay recognized as the others she'd written, on the writing table, upsetting the inkwell as he did so.

"Private, explain to me the letter system of this establishment!" He shouted the order, and KayKay stood a bit more rigidly.

"Sir! Letters are to be composed and sent only during mealtimes, and the recipients of the letters are to be the guardian of the Private in question, Sir!" KayKay replied quickly. It felt like a movie, having to use all the formalities such as saluting and saying "Sir" whenever in the presence of the General.

"And your guardians names are George and Susan. Tell me then why all the letters you've sent begin with 'Dear Harry'!" he yelled, spit flying from his mouth as he did so. He looked absolutely insane.

"Sir, because I have . . ." she winced inwardly, "I have disobeyed orders, Sir."

"March, Private! Training course!" Norwood pointed to the door of the falconry barn, and KayKay followed orders, walking out into the night air stiffly and to the obstacle course the man had indicated. 

"You are going to run this course until I feel you have had discipline enough, Private! Begin!"

So for the next hour and a half KayKay ran . . . and climbed . . . and crawled . . . and dodged . . .and jumped . . . It probably would have gone on longer if, after jumping down from the scaling wall for the seventh time, KayKay hadn't collided with something rather solid that shouldn't have been there.

"Professor O'Connor!" KayKay gasped, looking up at the headmistress of Escondito from her new position on the ground. "I didn't— I don't— what are you doing here?"

The woman looked grim as she extended a hand to KayKay to help her up.

"All that shall be discussed later, Miss Determan." She replied evasively, stepping in front of KayKay as a furious General Norwood walked quickly over to the pair.

"Private! What is the meaning of this? Continue your laps!"

When KayKay hesitated, he roared, "NOW!"

KayKay continued, working faster than before and ignoring the stitch in her side so she could catch pieces of the conversation passing in between her commanding officer of school and her commanding officer of boot camp.

One lap, " . . . You are not her legal guardian!"

"I am aware of that, but as I said, her guardians . . ."

Two laps, " . . . You mean to say you want her discharged before the proper time!?"

"There is no other option, sir, the legal process will take months as is . . ."

Three laps, " . . . She will not get her full disciplinary training! This delinquent will have not been changed at all!"

"Good Lord, she's not a criminal! She's almost top of her year—girl, stop running this torture course!"

"She is under MY command, she is to follow MY orders . . ."

Four laps, " . . . Private, halt!" 

"Sir!" 

"You are to go get your knapsack from your bunk and then stop by my office for your early release papers. I expect you there in no less than ten minutes."

KayKay blinked in shock. The General obviously found her still nature annoying, for he barked, "Now, Private!" much sooner than normal. KayKay nodded quickly, dashing away before he could change his mind, trying her hardest to suppress the grin that was already plastered on her face.

She threw open the door to her cabin and grabbed her knapsack, tossing in any of her items that weren't already in it.

"Trying to make a run for it, Determan? You'll never make it past the gates, not when I tell the General. And tonight it isn't too late to be out of bed." Madison taunted happily, sliding off of her place on the top bunk so she was standing on the floor. KayKay whirled around, swinging the pack on her shoulder, and was amused to see the look of confusion on Madison's face when she saw KayKay's smile.

"That's nice, very nice, you do that, Jacobs" she said, patting the shocked Madison on the cheek. "Then the General can inform you of my early release papers, and you can finally feel like the slug you are"

There was a murmur that swept the room when KayKay said "Release papers". KayKay ignored it and walked quickly to the door, turning back and smiling sweetly just before exiting.

"Enjoy Hogwarts, Jacobs" she said, her head tilted to the side. "Be sure to Owl me if the Bloody Baron kills another student this year."

Laughing to herself at the now frightened emotion that, under a less shocked pretense, Madison would normally have been able to conceal, KayKay turned and left. KayKay let the door bang shut behind her as she jumped down the flight of three stairs and set off at a dash for the General's office.

The look on the brat's face! Of _course_ the Bloody Baron never killed a student . . . 

But that wasn't what Madison thought.

* * * * *

"Professor, what's going on? What's happened?" KayKay asked tirelessly of Professor O'Connor. Their footsteps clicked against the polished marble floors of Encondito's hallways, and glass lamps burned brightly, casting a warm glow upon the white stone walls.

"Why did _you_ come to get me? How did you even know where I was?" KayKay persisted.

"You shall find," O'Connor answered, directing KayKay down a corridor, "that when someone really wants to find you, it is all too easy. That is the least of your worries right now."

So saying, she turned a brass key in the knob of one of the doors lining the corridor. The door swung open, revealing a bedroom. KayKay looked inside inquisitively then looked back at the headmistress.

"Go on in, go on. What I think you need right now is a good meal, warm bath, and soft bed. You can stay here the remainder of the summer." She said, directing KayKay trunk into the room. With a wave of her wand, it fell to the ground with a soft thud.

"But _why_ do I have to stay here?" KayKay demanded, stomping her foot on the ground, "I mean, yes, I'd rather be here than at camp, but . . . _Why_ won't you ruddy tell me what this is all about!?"

Professor O'Connor merely studied her a moment and said, " 'Ruddy', is it? Well, I'm glad you retained _something_ from Hogwarts, even if it wasn't respect."

Besides this, she made no indication of even hearing KayKay's frustrations.

"A house elf will be here shortly to bring your dinner and draw your bath. In the meantime, feel free to settle in"

With this, the woman swept away and KayKay, growling, slammed the door and kicked her trunk. Why were all headmasters so evasive!? Had it ever occurred to them that knowing the truth could be safer than being left in the dark?

KayKay crossed the room to the large window, stumbling as she passed the bed. Looking down, she kicked the fluffy pink bunny slippers that had caused her to trip underneath the bed with a snarl. Finally reaching the window, she flipped the latch, throwing it open. She walked out onto a small balcony and looked up at the sky, breathing deep of the night air. The stars . . . it hadn't occurred to her before. The stars here were completely different from the ones she'd grown used to at Hogwarts.

In fact (she had to laugh) the schools were completely different as well. Hogwarts was like a tall stone castle, ancient but strong, with stone corridors containing torches in brackets for light. At Hogwarts, the walls were often covered with paintings or tapestries, and the hallways lined with suits of armor.

Escondito, on the other hand, was like a palace-sized mansion. The floors were marble and the walls, soft white. Glass lamps contained flickering fire, and windows were far more prominent than armor.

Of course, the fact that Escondito was located in year-round warm weather may have had something to do with that fact.

"Mistress KayKay? Sinclair is here with yours food, ma'am." KayKay turned her head quickly and saw a tentative house elf entering her room. With a soft grin she straightened and walked back into the room, taking the tray gently from Sinclair.

"Thank you, Sinclair," she said, placing it down at the mahogany desk in the corner.

"Sinclair is most happy to be of service, ma'am. You can just eat yours supper, ma'am, and Sinclair will draw yours bath."

The small house elf tottered off to the bathroom adjacent to KayKay's bedroom, and running water could soon be heard. In the meantime, KayKay looked down at her dinner and smiled in amusement.

A cheeseburger. How long had it been since she'd had one? It was last October, at least . . .

KayKay ate supper quickly and then took her bath, letting the hot water soothe the muscles she thought were past being sore. Her mind was racing with inquires, like why was she here? Why was the _headmistress_ the one to fetch her? Why wasn't she being _told_ all this so her mind could stop hurting?

The parade of questions didn't stop until KayKay, too tired for any more coherent thought, fell into bed and was whisked away by a deep sleep.

She dreamt that the bunny slippers now under the bed came to life and asked her where she kept the butter knives.

* * * * *

"It's about danged time!" KayKay muttered to herself as she flopped into a chair facing the headmistress' desk. After avoiding KayKay for a week under the pretense of needing to go through lengthy paperwork, Professor O'Connor finally called KayKay to her office.

KayKay had occupied her time by exploring the mansion she hadn't been in for nearly a year. She'd visited her team dorm, Bravenheart, pleased to find the dorms exactly as they had been.

The Escondito Teams were much like Hogwarts Houses . . . Bravenheart, like Gryffindor, contained students that were brave and true. Hisidance was like Slytherin, and was composed of people who wouldn't mind resorting to fighting dirty to get what they wanted. Sphinxanor was most fittingly named; sounding like "Sphinx", the magical creature said to be most wise . . . and intelligence was what Sphinxanor prized. Cillphonowyn was the team hard workers were placed on, quite similar to Hufflepuff House. So very similar to Hogwarts . . . almost identical, had it not been for their fifth team, Desirlamorden. Desirlamorden was the team for those that wished, above all else, to help people in any way they could. Sometimes this was good, sometimes bad. Hisidance and Desirlamorden were the Teams that produced Dark Witches and Wizards . . . Hisidance, for that being their nature and Desirlamorden for their wish to assist them.

KayKay thought they were nuts. 

"Now, KayKay. I asked you to come here because I'm sure you have many questions—"

"Of course I do!" KayKay interrupted her. "Like why—"

"Please, if I could only finish one sentence! First, I'm going to explain what's happening. I ask you not to bombard me with questions until I am finished. Are we in agreement?"

KayKay nodded to the headmistress, who sat further forward in her chair and leaned across her desk so she could be a bit closer to KayKay.

"Now, I'm not certain of how much you know concerning the Dark Lord, but he, quite naturally, has been terrorizing the Wizarding world with his followers. Now, you must understand that their highest objective is to . . . well, to cause fear. And the easiest way for them to do so is by attacking those we know, those we care about, and by making us fall under the impression that we shall be next."

KayKay nodded in understanding, but for being such a sharp girl, she was being incredibly naïve at the moment.

Professor O'Connor sighed and leaned, if possible, further over her desk.

"I don't know if General Norwood kept you up to date with the wizarding news, but a little over three weeks ago, the wizard village of Saliente was attacked by the Dark Lord and his followers. They killed many of the people."

"Hey . . ." KayKay said slowly, "that's where I get my school supplies! It's only about half an hour from my house!"—The headmistress nodded— "But I don't know anyone there. I'm sorry, but how does this have anything to do with me?"

"Because, KayKay. They also lead a single, random attack about thirty or thirty-five miles away."

KayKay, who had been nodding, froze and began to shake her head slowly.

"No."

"Yes, they did, I'm sorry KayKay."

"No . . . they didn't, they couldn't have . . ."

"KayKay, I'm sorry, I know this must be difficult." Professor O'Connor said gently, placing a hand on top of the one KayKay was clenching the desk tightly with. "We don't know yet why he decided to attack your home in particular, but—"

"Professor Dumbledore!" KayKay exclaimed, jumping to her feet, causing the headmistress to start. "I have to talk to Professor Dumbledore. Right away!"

She looked around wildly and, locating the Floo Powder, grabbed the pouch from over the mantle. If Voldemort had come to her house with the hopes of finding her there and either capturing or killing her, Dumbledore had to be the first to find out. It was the powers . . . it had to have been. Voldemort would find no interest in a single attack upon Muggles if there wasn't a good reason behind it.

"KayKay . . ." the headmistress admonished, wrestling the sack out of KayKay's hands, "KayKay . . . sit DOWN!"

Had Professor O'Connor been at the same ancient age as Dumbledore, she'd have failed miserably. But, as it was, she was NOT as old as Dumbledore, she was only in her twenties, so it was only a matter of time before she succeeded in rescuing the violet bag and steering KayKay to her seat.

"Now," she panted, putting her hands on the armrests of the chair and looking KayKay squarely in the eyes, "this is how I was afraid you'd react. I concur, becoming an orphan is a hard thing to face—"

"A WHAT!?" KayKay yelled, standing so fast that Professor O'Connor jumped back and KayKay's chair clattered to the ground. The teacher maintained her composure, acting as though this was nothing unusual.

"An orphan, dear, an orphan. Don't worry, I already have half the paperwork done to find you a nice orphanage to live in during summer vacation, and—"

"I AM NOT AN ORPHAN!" KayKay shouted.

"KayKay, the last of your family was just killed at the Dark Lord's hands. You have no family left."

KayKay threw her headmistress a dark glare.

"I am NOT an orphan." She repeated. " I have an uncle, and believe me, he'd be more than happy to—"

"You most certainly do not! Child—"

"And don't call me a child, you're not even ten years older than I am!"

"You're certainly acting like one! Now for the last time, sit down before I feel the need to call up the nurse to subdue you!" The headmistress was fuming, and KayKay would have been a fool not to take her threat seriously. Picking up her chair as noisily as she could, KayKay flopped into it unceremoniously and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I DO have an uncle, he IS real, he WOULD love to be my guardian, and I am NOT making any of it up." KayKay said darkly.

"There is no evidence of that." Professor O'Connor replied, sitting on the edge of her desk and crossing her arms over her chest in a similar fashion.

"You want evidence? I have evidence! His name is Remus Lupin! He was my mother's younger brother, and he went to Hogwarts—"

"Your family lived in America. Why then would he attend Hogwarts?"

"Because he's a Werewolf, and no other schools would accept him, but Professor Dumbledore gave him a chance, and he's brilliant! He's a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and before that, he was an Auror. He'd visit the family when I was younger, but the Christmas everyone else died he wasn't there because Christmas Eve was a full moon. I'd always call him Uncle Remmy, and—"

"Enough!" Professor O'Connor rubbed her temples as if she was getting a splitting headache. "We have found no records of your mother even _having_ a younger brother, let alone a Werewolf. I know being an orphan seems scary, but it is no reason to make up stories—"

"It ISN'T a STORY! My mother's maiden name was Lupin! You can't deny that—"

"I said, ENOUGH! I'd expect this disrespect from a Hisidance, but not from a Bravenheart such as yourself! Now, go to your room. I've explained why you're here, and that should be good enough for you. I said, GO!" she roared when KayKay opened her mouth to protest. "I'll inform you when your first government custody meeting is once it's scheduled!"

Glaring at the headmistress angrily once more, KayKay stood up and left, kicking her chair over as she passed it and slamming the door behind her so hard that the windows shook.

So, she was telling stories, was she? Professor O'Connor would see . . . KayKay vowed to think of a way.

__

She'll see! KayKay thought viciously, slamming the door of her room shut with angry conviction. Inhaling deeply in an attempt to calm herself, KayKay leaned against her door. Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, she willed the room to go away, for her to go away, for the knowledge to go away, for _anything_ to go away that could make this easier. 

__

. . . How? How am I supposed to prove she was telling the truth?

Thinking of what to do now that those whom she'd called her guardians for half her life were gone made it so final, so absolute. They were dead. _Dead_. Dead at the hands of Voldemort.

And it was her fault.

Her knees gave way as the sunk slowly to the floor, her back sliding silently down the length of the door until she was hunched over, arms hugging her knees, head bowed, eyes stinging with unsummoned tears.

KayKay had never felt any particular endearment to what could be called her family. They had never treated her kindly, it had always been clear they felt her a burden. Still, they were family. And while in the past KayKay may have hoped she could somehow escape, never see them again . . .

. . . She'd never wished them _dead_.

And now they were.

Because of Voldemort.

Because of _her_.

A tremendous fury filled KayKay. With a growl of anger that quickly escalated to a shriek of rage, she launched herself to her feet and began to ransack her room, sweeping everything off of her desk, pulling out drawers and throwing them against the wall, knocking over her nightstand, and taking glass lamps and throwing them at the ground. The sounds of busting glass and snapping wood didn't calm her. They, in fact, drove her even crazier; she yanked a mirror off the wall and slammed it against the floor, making glass shatter and fly. Storming to the bathroom, KayKay wrenched the door open and attacked the shampoo bottles, the shower gel, the lotion, the toothpaste, and any other things she could get her hands on, unscrewing the covers and brandishing the objects like swords, painting the walls with the conglomeration of products. Plugging the drains of both the tub and the sink, she turned on the water as high as it would go, before leaving the bathroom and grabbing books from shelves, and alternately ripping out pages and tossing them across the room. One of the books hit the bay windows and broke a pane of glass, drawing KayKay's attention to the balcony. Yanking the curtains down with the sound of tearing fabric, KayKay flipped the latch and pushed her way out, the windows banging loudly as they hit the side of their frame.

She threw out her arms against the balcony railing to stop her momentum as she looked down at the lawn, many stories below her.

It was because of her.

The tears finally came. Collapsing against the railing, KayKay made no attempt to stem the flow. They may have been rude. They may have been unloving.

But they were her family.

And as the sky grew dark, and the stars came out, KayKay felt that she needed her wish upon the bright star she saw on her birthday to come true, now more than ever.

How could Harry hold all this inside? He'd been through the same, hadn't he? Cedric and the Triwizard Tournament? Still, he remained calm and in control of what he must have been feeling.

She could assuredly use his help now.

* * * * *

"We find no evidence that you are related to a Mr. Remus Lupin."

KayKay growled at the social worker and let her head fall to the desk with a loud thud. Lifting it a few inches she repeated the motion . . .and again . . . and again . . .

"Ms. Determan, will you STOP!" the wizard exclaimed, waving his wand to conjure a pillow between KayKay's head and the desk.

KayKay mumbled something into the pillow.

"I'm sorry, what was that, Ms. Determan?"

"I said THIS DANGED MINISTRY IS BLOODY DYSFUNCTIONAL!" KayKay yelled, attracting the attention of many other witches and wizards around them. The social worker looked very nervous.

__

Good, KayKay thought, _I'm making him unsure of himself._

"Please, please, Ms. Determan, keep it down. There's no need to—"

"OH PLEASE, MS. DETERMAN, PLEASE! DON'T LET MY PEERS KNOW THAT I CAN'T HANDLE ONE ANGRY TEENAGER! OH! OH MS. DETERMAN, WE HAVE NO RECORDS OF YOUR UNCLE WHO IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE!" KayKay mocked. She grinned viciously as the man blanched, "HAS IT OCCURRED TO YOU, PERHAPS, THAT THE REASON YOU DON'T HAVE A RECORD OF HIM IS BECAUSE YOU DISPELLED IT? PERHAPS BECAUSE HE WAS A WEREWOLF, OR MAYBE BECAUSE HE MOVED TO ENGLAND, OR POSSIBLY BECAUSE HE'S FROM A MUGGLE FAMILY!?"

She was leaned far forward in her chair, body as tense as a tiger ready to pounce upon some pitiful, defenseless prey.

"I am not yet an orphan," she hissed. "I am not an orphan until Remus dies. So stop classifying me as such, and take me for what I really am; a frustrated teenager ready to attack the next thing that says I'm lying about all of this."

Her return to a quieter demeanor obviously had lulled the wizard into a false sense of security. Giving her an annoyingly fake smile that she was sure he intended to be comforting, he pulled out a pad of paper and opened his inkwell, scribbling notes quickly with his quill.

"Now, Ms. Determan. Here is a paper." He said, holding out the slip, which she took sharply, "Bring it to the third floor for an appointment with the psychologist." 

KayKay jumped forward and, with a snarl, tore up the paper into tiny pieces and threw it into the man's face.

"I DON'T NEED A BLOODY PSYCHOLOGIST!" she roared. Pivoting quickly on her heel, she stormed away from the desk and pushed open the door to the main hall so fast that she almost squashed the nose of Professor O'Connor, who didn't appear very pleased.

"KayKay . . ." she said, exhaling with a sigh.

"I don't care! I don't _care_ what they say, what you say, what ANYBODY says!" KayKay exclaimed angrily, striding past the headmistress and punching a button for the elevator.

"I know." She replied, moving to join KayKay. "I was simply going to note how terrified the poor man was of you."

KayKay looked at her headmistress. While the woman's face was carefully masked of emotion, a small twinkle in her eye lead KayKay to believe that Professor O'Connor was as amused at KayKay's ability to scare the social worker as KayKay was.

"Well, that's one trip down the drain." She said to KayKay later, after they'd flooed back to her office. "First term starts in three days, so next time will have to be during school. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get an appointment, but I can assure that I'll be remaining _with_ you this time, and I expect you to have a better temper."

"Yes ma'am" KayKay muttered.

Later, by the palm trees on the lawn, KayKay laid on her back in the cool grass, gazing up at the twinkling stars.

No letters from Harry. No miraculous visits from Dumbledore. No proof Remus was her uncle.

"I guess I must be wishing," she said to herself softly, "on someone else's star."


	5. Business as Usual

__

*~* Chapter Five: Business as Usual *~*

"Oy! Harry!"

"Hello, Ron." Harry greeted when he'd located his friend, "Hair back to normal yet?"

"Unfortunately, no." Ron said with a wince, lifting his hat a few inches, "But almost. When Fred and George make a product, they sure make a product. Oh, and they have their shop up in Hogsmeade now, did you know? Impressive, really. Got it all set up over the summer! Of course, them being able to use magic now . . ."

The Hogwarts Express gave a shrill whistle behind them, causing the two boys to hurry with their trunks. Once they'd said goodbye to their significant others, found a compartment and settled in, they resumed their conversation

"You know who always comes to mind when I look in the mirror at my hair?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head. "KayKay. Remember that time when you had a bet, and she lost so you had her dye her hair red and gold for a month? Just imagine if this had been patented before then!"

Ron was laughing, but stopped abruptly at the look on Harry's face.

"Come on, mate. You'll see her again. So why not laugh at the good times, eh?"

"Yeah. I guess. Where's Hermione?" Harry asked, both to change the subject and because he hadn't yet seen her.

"I'm not sure. She said something about needing to talk to Ginny. I haven't the slightest clue why . . . probably just girl talk. You know, clothes, hair . . . you know the way girls get . . . why?"

"Just wondering . . ." then, remembering the book he'd packed near the top of his trunk, Harry added, "and I have something I want to show the both of you."

"Really? Well, what is it?"

"I'll tell you when Hermione—"

"Yes Harry?" the subject in question asked, entering the compartment and sliding the door shut behind her. "_Colloportus!_"

"Oh, hello Hermione!" Harry said in surprise. "Well then, just let me get it . . ."

"What was that for?" Ron questioned Hermione as Harry stood and opened his trunk (a difficult task, it being on the luggage carrier).

"Well, if you _want_ Malfoy to . . ."

"No, no, definitely not. Thank you, Hermione." Harry supplied, sitting back down with the Animagus journal in his hands. "Now, _this_ is what I wanted to show you guys. Hermione, we'll need your help especially. You're the smart one."

"The 'smart one'?" Hermione questioned, looking at Harry with amusement.

"Of course! Just like Harry is the brave one!" Ron laughed. "But then which one am I?"

"Well, we all need a good laugh now and then." Harry joked. Ron feigned a hurt expression.

"Well, thanks a lot. Good to know who your mates are." He said, slumping in his seat, causing Harry and Hermione to only laugh at him more. Ron joined in after giving up his sad pretense.

"Well Harry, what is it anyhow?" Hermione asked when their laughter had died away.

"Well . . . this." He said indicating the journal in his hands. Hermione made a motion for him to hand it over to her, so as she flipped through the pages, Harry explained.

"It's where Sirius and my dad recorded how they went about becoming Anamagi. He and Remus gave it to me for my birthday . . . I've read it all, but it's still a bit confusing to me. All I can understand so far is that we have to do some sort of test to find out what kind of animal we should try to turn into."

"Harry, we can't do this! It's illegal!" Hermione unsurprisingly protested.

"Yeah, but so is brewing Polyjuice Potion in a Girls Lavatory." Ron grinned.

"Not to mention using a Time-Turner for activities that don't have ministry approval . . ."

" . . . And helping a convicted murderer escape . . ."

" . . . Oh, and don't forget that third-floor corridor . . ."

"Okay, okay, I got it!" Hermione exclaimed, winning a crooked grin from Harry and a smug one from Ron. "But still, those were _important . . ._ necessary."

"Yeah, and who's to say that being able to . . . to fly away or gallop away or something won't come in handy? You never know, Hermione!" Harry reasoned. "And we can register once we graduate . . . maybe . . ." 

"Oh fine, fine." Hermione said with a large sigh.

"Oh, admit it Hermione, you're secretly glad that we were right and that you have to go along with it." Ron said.

"Maybe . . ." she said suggestively, looking down at the book again. "Anyhow, we'll have to brew a potion first. Lots of complicated measurements and ingredients, but nothing we won't be able to get. Let's see . . . it has to simmer from one full moon to the next . . ."

"There's a full moon tonight!" Harry exclaimed. "We can start it now!" 

"No we can't, Harry, we'd never get it ready in time! We'll have to start on . . . when's the next full moon? The twenty-sixth?"–Harry and Ron shrugged—"As I was saying, then we add the last ingredients and let it sit in a bottle for two weeks to gain potency. We then separate the potion between us and add a drop of our blood—"

"Our WHAT?!" Ron exclaimed, looking disgusted.

"Our blood. Oh, just a drop Ron, stop wincing!"

"And then I suppose we drink it?"

"No, Rainbow Hair" Hermione countered. "We take an enchanted parchment and put one drop of the potion on for each year we are old. So that would be sixteen. After that, the parchment will become patterned . . . we'll have to sneak a trip to the library, to find out what the patterns mean, James, Sirius, and Peter only put the patterns of what they got . . . oh, but they also wrote down what book they used, that's great—"

"Lunch cart!" Ron interrupted, jumping from his seat to unlock the door. Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, burying herself in the journal. After Harry and Ron had bought enough Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, and other sweets to satisfy themselves, Hermione continued.

"Well, once we find out what animal we are, we need to get a bit of that kind of animal's fur, feather, hair, something . . . some essence of them . . ."

"Sounding like Polyjuice Potion again." Ron muttered through a mouthful of Jelly Slugs.

"Not!" Hermione snapped. "Then we need to . . . oh my, it'll be difficult . . . and dangerous . . ."

"Well? What is it we'll have to do?" Harry asked with a bit more civility than Ron.

"We'll have to infuse the essence's DNA with our own . . . or vice versa . . . and then—this is the part where people usually go wrong, either this or the DNA, they scramble their own DNA by accident—we perform an advanced human transfiguration charm . . ."

Hermione continued to chatter, easily filling the much of the trip to Hogwarts.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Chad!" KayKay greeted brightly, throwing an arm around her unofficial brother and causing him to stagger back a few steps. She'd ambushed him as soon as he'd stepped off of the street trolley that transported students from the Floo Station to the gates of Escondito.

"Whoa, hi there, kiddo," he laughed, hugging her back, "still as mature as a Firstie, eh?"

"Oh, stop it." She said, giving him a light punch on the arm. "So, any-who, how was your summer?"

"Oh, good, good." He said as they began to walk side by side up the hill towards the school, arms loped casually around each other's necks, the very picture of friendly siblings. "Went camping up in Canada fer a while, don'cha know, eh?" he added in a cheesy Canadian accent.

KayKay joked back, "Aye, tell me aboot it." They both laughed, and KayKay warned, "I live much further north than you, and in Minnesota. Don't get into an accent contest with me!"

"Oh? Should I be scared now?"

"Oy vey" KayKay rolled her eyes, then glanced over at Chad. She stopped walking.

"What is it?" 

KayKay shook her head and smiled, running a head from the top of her head straight over. It touched Chad's forehead. She grinned wider and kept walking.

"I'm catching up to you" she said smugly, "I'm almost as tall as you now."

"Yeah, but we're on a hill, and you were a step ahead of me."

"No my friend, _you_ were a step ahead of _me_. I stopped walking before you did."

"I'm sure." Chad deadpanned. KayKay laughed again then looked up at the sky.

"I'm glad that it's clear tonight," she commented, "remember last year when we had to stand in the pouring rain for the sorting, and then we had the picnic on the Dining Room floor?"

Escondito being in a wonderfully warm climate, beginning and end of year feasts were picnics outside. People either sat at picnic tables or on the cool grass, but before feasts began, the new kids were naturally sorted. 

The sorting was very simple . . . but rather unlike Hogwarts. Instead of putting on a talking hat, one at a time the first years would be sorted by an enchanted redwood tree that had the founder's essences fused into the ancient wood. 

__

A redwood tree, KayKay theorized, _was a wise choice. Normal ones live so long, just imagine how long a magical one can last!_

KayKay could remember her sorting very clearly. A song, so enchanting that it seemingly floated on the wind, reminded everyone of the school's history, the different teams, and the necessity of working with one's team. KayKay, being close to the beginning of the alphabet, was called at what seemed to be far too soon. She walked close the tree and placed a trembling hand on the trunk, warm from the sun.

What happened next was a bit more similar to the sorting hat. A warm, kind voice filled her head and lifted her heart. 

__

Ah, the tree had said to her, _and she comes at last. It does one good to feel the future. But the knowledge! What shall you do with the knowledge?_

KayKay was confused to say the least.

"What . . . what do you mean?" she had murmured quietly, eyes closed tightly against the setting sun.

__

The knowledge, the tree repeated cryptically. _Knowledge and power . . . but ah, a good heart. No, no, Hisidance would not have you. I am inclined to say . . . BRAVENHEART._

With that solitary word, the leaves of the tree shone blue and one fell, floating softly to the ground where KayKay picked it up. The rest of the leaves turned back to green but the one on the ground kept it's abnormal color, and KayKay went quickly to where the cheering students sat at blue tables or blue picnic blankets, tucking the leaf into her pocket as she went . . .

"KayKay . . . Escondito to KayKay . . . anybody home? Hellooo . . ."

"Oh, what? Stop that, Chad!" KayKay shoved Chad's energetic hand away from her face.

"Then come on, let's sit down before there's no more room at the table!" he exclaimed, grabbing her by the wrist and steering her through the crowd.

"You know, I've been talking all about my summer, but . . . you haven't said a word about yours. So what happened?" Chad asked once they were seated.

"Well, let's see." KayKay began counting on her fingers, "New baby I had to take care of. Escape with my friend to an amusement park for my birthday. A beating from Joe—"

The water Chad was drinking from his glass came back out of his mouth with a sputter. "He did WHAT?!"

"Shhh, I'm not finished yet!" KayKay admonished, handing Chad a napkin. "Joe smashed my guitar, Sue enrolled me in boot camp—"

" _'Boot camp' _?!"

"I said, shhh! Couldn't send a letter to you, Megan, Ron, Hermione, Lupin or Sirius, so I started sending them to Harry. Got caught halfway through writing one—we're only supposed to write them to our guardians—and it turns out that Norwood checks all the hawks going out, so none of my letters were sent. I was given obstacle course laps—"

"What does an obstacle course have to do with—" Chad began, but stopped when KayKay glared at him.

"I then ran into Professor O'Connor . . . literally . . . and she brought me here . . . mind you, the General wasn't very happy that I got released early, but there you go . . ."

"But, why?" 

"I didn't know at first. O'Connor wouldn't tell me anything. Finally, after being here for a _week_ she told me." KayKay said, pausing at this point in her tale to look at Chad. He still appeared clueless.

"Well . . . ?" he prompted, "What was it?"

"Chad, you ah . . ." she leaned back on the bench and looked up at the sky, biting her lip. "You didn't happen to keep up with the wizarding news over the summer, did you?"

"Well, of course I did, who didn't?" Chad asked, looking at KayKay in confusion. "There wasn't much, the Weird Sisters had a falling out, Ireland won the Quidditch cup again, and there were only a _couple_ attacks by . . . oh, no." His eyes widened in realization.

KayKay swallowed hard and nodded her head, still looking up at the sky. She jumped a little as Chad enveloped her in a comforting embrace.

"I'm so sorry, KayKay," he said softly, "nobody should have to go through something like this even once in their lives, but you . . ."

"It's my fault." KayKay interrupted. "It's all my fault. He went there to get me, that's the only reason he would have done something so random—"

"No it isn't KayKay!" Chad insisted, pulling back and putting his hands on her shoulders. "It isn't!"

KayKay simply blinked at him. "Chad, if it wasn't for me—"

"If it wasn't for you, this world wouldn't stand a chance! KayKay, as long as you and Harry are still alive, Voldemort hasn't won. And KayKay, you can't blame yourself for what Voldemort did!"

"Well why not? You can't tell me that you honestly think he was going to my house for tea and got angry when Sue ran out of finger sandwiches!"

"No KayKay, he—"

"Then what?! _Why_ would he go out of his way, _why_ would he attack my family, _why_ would he have done it all if he wasn't trying to get to me?"

Chad exploded. "Because that's the way his mind works, KayKay!" Looking around and seeing fellow students looking at him strangely, Chad lowered his voice.

"He likes to kill people, KayKay! It makes him feel strong to be able to end other people's lives! I'm not saying that you _weren't_ who he was looking for, but you weren't the one who whipped out their wand and yelled out the killing curse at them, were you?"

"Well . . . no . . . but still—"

"It wasn't you fault he killed people in Saliente, was it?"—KayKay shook her head—"And it still isn't your fault that he killed your cousins. It isn't your fault, none of it ever _was_ your fault, and none of it ever _will_ be your fault. And KayKay, if you can't understand that, then well . . . you're just stupid!"

Something in Chad's speech triggered her memory . . . KayKay tried to grasp it, but it wriggled away before KayKay could begin to sort it out. 

"All right, KayKay?" Chad asked with an air of concern.

In spite of herself, KayKay smiled. Even back in her first year, Chad's second, Chad had stepped into the role of "big brother", gladly taking KayKay under his wing and looking out for her at school. He never stopped helping her out, and in every sense he was almost as wonderful as the older brother she'd lost along with most of her family.

"Yeah." She said, giving him a grateful hug. "Thanks, Chad."

Just then, Professor O'Connor cleared her throat, successfully gaining the attention of all the students. The first years looked at her, but the rest of the students were gazing raptly at the tall redwood behind the headmistress. An unearthly song rose to the sky, giving KayKay shivers as she allowed it to wash over her.

__

In a time not very long ago,

There were magicians five

Whom for a magic institute

Did with perseverance strive.

Bravenheart, Sphinxanor,

Hisidance and Cillphonowyn.

And don't forget the last;

Helpful Desirlamorden.

With nothing but spare change

And a pocket full of dreams

Did they build this lovely institute

And teach children magic things.

Yes, they did play favorites

And thus forms the teams.

And since by now they have all gone,

'Tis I who make the means.

Bravenheart, the leader.

To those with courage through and through

This shall be the team

That is just right for you.

Sphinxanor, the planner.

For those cunning and those wise

This is the family

That you shall come to prize

Hisidance, the sly one.

Those determined and wily

Hisidance is the best team

For anyone like thee 

Cillphonowyn, the cautious.

If you plan ahead and venture slow

This is the kindly team

That you will come to know.

Desirlamorden, the helper.

Those with helping hands always

The most neutral of the teams

Desirlamorden is your way.

To all: coexist in harmony.

Though rivalry is your style,

Hard times affect all

But peace helps deal a while

Step forward, be true,

I haven't misplaced yet.

Your family is waiting,

And it's about time you met.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *

The Great Hall burst into applause as the Sorting Hat finished his song with a small bow. Per usual, Professor McGonagall stepped forward and unrolled a long scroll of names. Surveying the mass of students over her glasses for a moment, the strict teacher then cleared her throat and read the first name.

"Aaron, Michael"

A sandy-haired boy separated from the rest of the group and, looking nothing short of petrified, started tentatively up the steps and sat on the old stool.

"So, how many O.W.L.S did you both get?" Hermione whispered as the hat contemplated its decision.

"Enough" Ron answered evasively, concentrating on the hat with feigned attention. ("HUFFLEPUFF!") Hermione rolled her eyes impatiently and instead focused on Harry.

"Well?" she inquired after he'd simply stared back at her, "How did you do?"

Harry sighed and sat back a little. 

"Not as good as I'd have hoped," he admitted. "I think I made the classes I really need to become an Auror though, and that's the important thing."

Hermione nodded in agreement as "Airde, Innes", a boy with green eyes and rusty brown locks of curls, was sorted into Ravenclaw

"How about you?" Harry asked Hermione. "Oh wait, what am I saying? Of _course_ you got 'Outstanding' on them all . . ."

Hermione blushed with pride and pretended to return her attention to the girl sitting on the stool to be sorted.

"I'm still confused as to why they didn't make you Prefect last year." Harry continued, making Hermione look at him again.

"No one was chosen for Prefect last year, Harry. They choose from the Fifth Years every _other_ year. I just missed my chance by a year, is all. I can still be Head Girl next year. Speaking of Prefects, did you see who got the girl's badge this year for Gryffindor?"

"Who?" Harry asked, looking around. Hermione nodded down the table at Ginny, who was wearing the shiny badge with pride. 

Harry was barely surprised but, having nothing to say, looked back to the sorting.

Sabrina Dawson, a confident-looking girl with long brown hair and dark eyes was the first to join Gryffindor and was greeted with loud applause.

"Hi guys," a voice greeted softly as someone slid into the chair next to Hermione. "Just Flooed in. What did I miss?"

"Hi Megan. You didn't miss much, only one girl sorted into Gryffindor so far." Hermione nodded down the table at Sabrina, "How was your holiday?"

"Oh, can't complain." Megan replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder and leaning farther in towards the center of the table to better see the Sorting. Karen Fisher, a short, brown-haired, brown-eyed girl with braces was sitting tentatively on the stool, and the hat had to consider a while before deciding to place her in Slytherin. Megan looked back at her friends and continued.

"Rather boring, but after last year a bit of calm was more than welcome. But . . ."

"But what?" prompted Harry, who was only listening with one ear.

"Well, I'm just . . . well, did any of you get letters from KayKay? I didn't get any at the orphanage, but that isn't very surprising, truth be told . . ."

Harry's head jerked back to Megan, his attention now on her in full. Hermione was first to reply, however.

"Well no, but I didn't expect any. I'm not sure why it worries you . . . I mean, if she normally doesn't write you anyhow."

"The attack." Harry said simply. Megan looked at him in surprise, then nodded.

"I read about it, but it didn't say any names. I expected another article once they figured out the identities . . . I mean, how long could it take? But then no other article came out, and I'm beginning to wonder if You-Know-Who didn't somehow silence the Ministry." Megan shook her head, "I mean it _could_ be a coincidence, but how likely is that?"

Harry felt a pang of despair, "Not likely."

Hermione had always been the logical one of the group, so it was no surprise that it was she who put their minds at ease . . . slightly.

"Harry, you and I both know how she's connected to you. Wouldn't you have felt something? And even if you hadn't, Dumbledore would have told you, security around you would have risen very conspicuously, and there wouldn't be any doubts of it. Now lets pay attention to the Sorting. Please?"

Megan and Harry admitted the intelligence behind Hermione's words and turned their attention to the First Years again. 

The Sorting went pretty fast after a girl with raven hair and striking violet eyes named Jaymi Krysallis was Sorted into Ravenclaw. Not long after, Aki Nomiko, a girl who looked Japanese was sorted into Slytherin and her twin brother Kitsune, with almond shaped eyes and jet-black hair identical to his sister's, was sorted into Hufflepuff. Pretty soon "Rolands, Lynn" was sorted into Gryffindor. The girl hopped off of the stool and joined her fellows, hazel eyes sparkling behind her glasses.

Finally, with, "Zinwar, Paul" being sorted to Hufflepuff, the Sorting ended and the feast began. To Harry, it seemed like only a few minutes later that he walked upstairs and staggered into bed.

Little did he know that the next day, the real trouble would begin.


	6. Unwanted Advances

__

*~* Chapter Six: Unwanted Advances *~*

"Hey, no classes until the afternoon!" Ron exclaimed happily upon reading his schedule the next morning. His face fell, "Ugh, but then it's Transfiguration with the Slytherins."

"Well, good for you." Harry replied glumly, reading his own list of classes. "Hermione and I have N.E.W.T. Potions first thing every Monday and Thursday."

"N.E.W.T? Hey, that's right!" Ron exclaimed, scanning the paper again. "No more Potions for me!"

He then jumped up and started a victory dance.

"No more slimy tea-_chers_! No more slimy tea-_chers_! No more—"

"Huzzah" Hermione said blandly, pulling Ron back into his seat.

"Well it's with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw too, not just Slytherin. Must not be many Sixth Years with N.E.W.T. Potions." Harry was halfway through tucking his schedule into his bag when he brightened suddenly.

"Hey!"—Ron and Hermione stared at him—"Now Malfoy and Snape can pick on the Hufflepuff pansies, rather than us!"

"Harry!" Hermione admonished, but Ron just shook his head.

"I doubt it, mate."

Harry slumped, recognizing defeat.

"_Good_ morning!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked up as Megan plopped down in an empty seat next to Ron. She looked, in all aspects, far too happy.

"Ugh, it's too early in the morning for you to be so cheery."

"It's too early in the _week_ for you to be so cheery!" Harry added to Ron's statement.

"Oh you're just sore because _you_ have Potions!" she retorted, childishly sticking a tongue out at Harry.

"I hate it when you do that mind-reading thing."

Harry was rewarded by Megan tossing a roll at his head.

"Now stop it!" she exclaimed. Then leaning in closer she whispered, "Okay. I checked, and the full moon is on the twenty-eighth. Hermione, do we need any ingredients for the potion that we haven't got yet?"

"No, we're set to go. So then, the new moon would be on the fifteenth?

Megan nodded.

"Good." Hermione continued, "Harry, can you use your map to find us somewhere good to brew the potion? If you can't find a place before the fifteenth, I _suppose_ we can use Moaning Myrtle's bathroom . . ."

Harry opened his mouth to say that he would do anything to avoid brewing the potion Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, but Ron cut in.

"The fifteenth? I thought this whole potion revolved around the full moon."

"Ugh, Ron, stop talking with your mouth full of food!" Hermione looked thoroughly disgusted. "It _simmers_ from one moon to the next, but we do have to _mix_ it first, don't we?"

Ron appeared sheepish, but said nothing. The next voice that spoke came as a surprise to all parties.

"So, what are we doing here, then?"

Ron jumped as Cocoa, his pet Caranax, jumped up onto the table and grabbed a piece of toast.*

"_We_ are going to Potions," Harry replied, standing up as he looked at his watch, "while you and Ron go back to Gryffindor Tower and write up a layout for Quidditch tryouts."

"_Quidditch_?" The small animal had an expression of repulsion on her face as she looked after Ron. Then very suddenly she jumped off of the table and trotted after him saying, "Hey that's great! Quidditch is a brilliant sport. I have never heard somebody go, 'Hey wanna' watch some Quidditch?' just to have the other person say, 'No, I don't like Quidditch,' Quidditch _is_ great, and in fact, do you know what I said to Hedwig just the other day . . . ?"

Cocoa's commentary died out as Ron got out of earshot. Harry and Hermione then proceeded down towards the dungeons for Potions, and Megan headed to Divination.

Hermione was a ways ahead of Harry so she had already gotten into the classroom when someone in a shadowy corner grabbed Harry's tie and pulled him into the darkness to join them.

"So . . ." a female voice said softly, "You are the famous Harry Potter. Oh yes, I've heard all about _you_."

"And you," Harry coughed, fingering his collar to loosen his tie again, "are Madison Jacobs."

He remembered it striking him as odd to have someone go to a new boarding school just because they'd moved. Honestly, they could simply go to the school in the fall, come back in the summer! It wasn't a daily commute . . .

"And you even remember my name! Why, I should probably feel honored . . . and Determan was so assured that you only had eyes for her!"

Harry froze.

"KayKay? You know her?"

Madison laughed malevolently, placing a hand on his arm in a would-be friendly gesture, had it not been for the way she looked at him.

"_Know_ her? Oh assuredly so, Harry. Or wait . . . would that be better phrased 'knew' her? She'd have been abashed to see you now. She was so certain of your feelings for her . . . but one so obviously not in mourning . . . well, misjudgment in character is a common fault, the poor girl couldn't have known . . . but since you seem so very aloof about it all, perhaps I'll . . . see you again?"

Without another word, Madison slipped out of the shadows and into the classroom. She had sounded very casual about all she had said, but the implications . . . especially at the end of her speech . . . were all too clear.

So she knew KayKay . . . but she made it sound like something bad had happened to her. Had it? Or was she playing games?

Harry entered the classroom and sat next to Hermione, ignoring her curious looks. What reason would Madison have to toy with something of the sort . . . she spoke of KayKay in a simple way, as if in passing, like she knew her, was friendly with her, but not close to her. 

He glanced across the room at Madison, who was looking at him in return. Her eyes were suggestive, and what they were suggesting was more than "Hi, I just met you, maybe we can talk again sometime."

Harry was slightly disturbed by the unwanted advance. He never thought he'd be grateful for a Potions class dedicated to taking notes, but here it was, and he was quite relived to not have an opportunity to look up from his paper.

* ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ *

KayKay got out of her desk and swung her bookbag over her shoulder, joining the herd of students clustering at the door.

__

Okay then. One N.E.W.T. class down, only . . . she looked at her schedule and groaned inwardly,_ three to go today. I should have gone to bed earlier last night!_

Well, it was too late for that now. She'd just have to be a zombie the rest of the day and try to sleep more that night.

She consulted her schedule once more.

"All right then. Next stop, Transfiguration."

She transferred her books to one arm as she hitched her bag higher on her shoulder, setting her course for the North wing of the school. She'd barely started off when someone tapped her on the shoulder and asked, "Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to know where I could find KayKay Determan, would you?"

KayKay turned to reply.

"Yes, I'm—_ohmygod!_"

Her books fell to the floor as she clapped her hands over her mouth to refrain from a cry of surprise.

"I tend to get that reaction." The boy said calmly leaning a shoulder against the wall and twirling a flower casually. "You'd think that people were shocked to see me."

KayKay lowered her hands slowly and sputtered, "You . . . you . . ."

"Yes, me, me. I have a name you know."

"What are you doing here?!" KayKay asked furiously.

"I would that it would be all too obvious," Matt replied, standing straight again, "I'm learning magic, isn't everyone?"

"You're not supposed to be here!" KayKay insisted stubbornly. "You're supposed to be at some nice, normal, Muggle school with Muggle teenagers somewhere far, far away from my thoughts and sights!"

"Well, so much for a warm reception." He said, not allowing KayKay's anger to dissuade him. "You seemed so very social in the summertime."

"Well, that was before certain parties made unwanted advances." KayKay snapped, bending to gather her books again. Without another word, she turned sharply and began to walk away.

"Hey wait, don't be like that!" Matt exclaimed, jogging to catch up with her and walking backwards in front of her so he could continue talking with her. "Listen, I know I was too forward last time, but honestly. Can you blame a guy?"

"Yes. You're trying to charm me. It won't work." KayKay stated.

"Maybe not, but can I still apologize and inform you that I'd like to start over?" 

"You may." 

Matt smiled, appearing satisfied with this. He tucked the hibiscus flower he'd been carrying over one of KayKay's ears, giving her reason to smile as she felt a thrilling, swooping sensation in her stomach. 

"Now I'm terribly sorry milady, but I simply must get to Magical Government with my fellow Desirlamordens. Mayhap I shall see you at dinner?"

"Yeah, sure." KayKay replied before he dashed away to his class and she to her own, taking the flower out of her hair and putting it in her bag as she went.

He was strange, no doubt, but he was plenty friendly for KayKay's way of thinking.

* * * * *

"Why, hello there, stranger."

"Oh hey!" Kay said, looking over her shoulder at dinner to see Matt standing behind her. "Chad, this is Matt. Matt, Chad. Matt and I . . . Matt mostly . . . bumped into each other over the summer."

Chad, seated across the table from KayKay, looked up from _Quidditch Through the Ages_ nodded a hello at Matt, which Matt returned before looking at KayKay again.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go with a walk with me before it gets dark outside." He invited.

"Oh! Well, all right." KayKay said, standing up and extracting her long legs from underneath the table. I'll see you back in the Dorm Library, 'kay Chad?"

"Nooo problem" he replied, drawing out the word distractedly as he turned a page and kept reading. KayKay rolled her eyes and walked with Matt out of the Dining Hall.

The sun was not yet touching the horizon when KayKay and Matt stepped in to the warm, fresh air. KayKay wondered for a moment if she should say something, but Matt spoke first.

"You know, I felt really bad after Valleyfair. I could tell that what I did made you . . . I don't know, panic I suppose. You know, you're not like most girls."

KayKay gave him a "look".

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means . . . oh no, I didn't mean it in a _bad_ way! I mean, most girls try so hard for a guy's approval, it seems. It's like they have no shame in totally throwing themselves at men."

"Disgusting is what it is." KayKay muttered. Matt grinned.

"See but you have standards. Most girls don't care either way, but you don't flaunt yourself like most of them do. It's actually _more_ attractive than a girl who does anything she can to get a guy."

KayKay couldn't think of anything to say, so she just looked down, stuffing her hands in her pockets and letting her hair hide her blushing face.

__

I may be on the verge of a scientific breakthrough! "What Guys REALLY Like: A Girl With Standards" Ha! I'll get a Nobel Prize for finally figuring out male psychology!

So guys were attracted to girls with standards, not girls that threw themselves at them. Perhaps _that_ was why Harry was unyielding in his pursuit to win her back after their fight? Because she wouldn't let herself be used like a puppet?

__

Stupid, stupid, stupid! What did you have to go and think about Harry for? You're here and he's there, remember? You . . . you . . .

"Something wrong?" Matt asked, looking at her face which had gone from rosy to white.

"No, I'm fine. Really" she added when she saw Matt's skeptical gaze. "Just . . . thinking, is all."

Matt nodded, then suddenly walked over to a plant and picked a flower. When he turned and gave it to KayKay, she joked, "Two flowers in one day? Won't there be trouble for you depleting the school's flower supply?"

"Nah," he said, walking again, "Hibiscus flowers only bloom on the plant for one day. If anything, I'm doing the school a favor."

KayKay nodded, looking at the flower with a small smile. It had white petals that tuned magenta near the center, very pretty.

"So, how was your summer after the Fourth?" KayKay asked.

"Oh, it was all right. I was pretty busy, being a techie for Garth Brooks. You wouldn't _believe_ how many concerts that man did in two months!"

"You mean you were around for more than just the one show?!" KayKay exclaimed in disbelief. Matt nodded.

"My dad's company contracts some of his albums, so I was given a great opportunity over the summer. Probably won't happen again, but it was a great experience."

KayKay stopped and leaned against the trunk of a palm tree. "I officially hate you."

"Oh? That easily?" Matt teased. "Why now, of all times?"

"Because I'm too jealous for words."

After they'd both had a good laugh at this, KayKay spoke again.

"Well, my summer was as eventful as yours, I'm sure, but certainly not as fun. Seriously, boot camp isn't all it's cracked up to be. However, a General who sneers 'goodnight, _ladies_' is actually humorous when the people he's talking to really _are_ ladies."

"Boot camp?" Matt echoed.

"Yeah."

"Boot camp."

"Yes! Boot camp!"

Matt shook his head.

"Crazy." He stopped and looked KayKay briefly in the eyes.

"I'm sorry about your cousins. It must be hard to go through something like that and having to find a new home again."

KayKay nodded sadly.

"Sue wasn't what you'd call a maternal type, but . . ." KayKay stopped mid-sentence and shifted her weight away from the tree, standing straight.

"How did you know about my cousins?" she demanded, regret in her eyes fleeing to be replaced by anger and suspicion. Matt looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

"I . . . I read it in the newspaper," Matt stammered. He looked guilty, like he'd just let something slip that would mean trouble for him later.

"How could you have? They never put my name _or_ my cousin's down. And on that matter entirely, how did you know I didn't still live with my parents?"

"I . . . I . . ."

"And another thing! How did you know what last name to tell Garth Brooks at that concert? I never told you my last name, but somehow, he knew it! Care to explain _that_ to me?"

KayKay's eyes were blazing now, like she was unexplainably overcome with an awesome fury.

"If you tell me that you found this out by . . . by somehow accessing school records or something, I'm going to be very, _very_ disturbed. Stalkers aren't treated with respect in _my_ book!"

Matt didn't speak, just stood with his mouth opening and closing like a stupefied goldfish. KayKay "hmphed" in disgust and stalked away, trying to shake off the violated feeling slowly creeping over her. Those were things that Chad himself, one of KayKay's closest friends hadn't found out until the previous night! She was sure that even her friends overseas didn't yet know exactly what had happened over the summer, yet here was a stranger knowing her last name without her even saying it? It was simply too freaky for KayKay to bear.

Considering she was already on edge, it was no surprise that she shrieked when a familiar face suddenly popped up in front of her and greeted, "Hello!"

"Cocoa!" KayKay exclaimed, leaning against a stone pillar with a hand on her chest. "What are you _doing_ here?"

Her heart was beating rapidly, and she was trying to take deep breaths to calm herself.

"Coming to see you Mistress, naturally!" the Caranax replied, sitting down and wagging her tail lightly.

"Well, it's just a big old reunion of lost faces today, isn't it?" KayKay said somewhat snappishly. "I swear, everyone is trying to give me a heart attack! _Is_ that the whole purpose?"

"Oh, most certainly not, Mistress! In fact, I don't believe Master Ronald knows I'm here. Waking owners at three in the morning is not as wise as it seems."

"I take it you speak from experience?" KayKay asked, deciding her pulse was steady enough to walk again.

"But of course!" Cocoa trotted alongside KayKay. "Oddly enough, he was really quite annoyed. It is not _my_ fault that when I heard that ghoul above his bedroom for the first time I thought his life was in danger!"

"No, definitely not" KayKay agreed, "but won't Ron realize you're gone?"

"I doubt it," Cocoa replied. "I'm normally off somewhere or another at Hogwarts. If I still make a stop at the Gryffindor Table during a meal every few days, he'll be fine."

"Thank God," KayKay said, very relieved to have a companion not deeply engrossed in the up and coming Quidditch Season. Then she thought of something.

"Cocoa, why _did_ you come here? I mean, why is it that you felt a need to see me?"

"Ah, Mistress." Cocoa looked sadly at the ground, "It is a bad thing. Master Ronald and his friends . . . that would be, Harry, Hermione, and Megan . . . they are most dreadfully worried about you . . . at times they fear you are dead or worse."

"What?! They said that they think I _died_?"

"Oh, never. They wouldn't _think_ of _saying_ it. But you can tell that it crosses their minds—that is to say, _I_ can tell. Another Caranax perk."

"But . . . oh! Because no names were mentioned after the attack! They probably think that since it was such a selective attack . . ."

"And since it said two adults and a 'youth' . . ."

"So that's it, isn't it? Oh, and I bet Harry never got the letters!" KayKay exclaimed as she put her palm against the door of Bravenheart Dorm so the wood could recognize her and unlock the charm resistant door. "Of course he didn't, the General confiscated all of them!"

There was a click as mechanisms inside the door drew back, and KayKay turned the knob. 

Bravenheart Dorms were very nice. The "Common Room" was more of a miniature library, with comfortable reading chairs and plenty of desks for homework. There was no fireplace . . . the warmth was unnecessary, and anyone who needed to floo someplace simply used the Headmistress' office. Still, there was a couch or two (blue, that being the Team color) and some game tables for a few rounds of checkers, chess, or poker (which every student denied playing when questioned by the administration.)

They were still working on getting a pool table.

KayKay flopped into one of the reading chairs and started pulling textbooks and paper out of her bookbag.

"Whatcha' doing?" Cocoa asked, jumping up onto the armrest.

"Homework." KayKay answered simply, flipping through the book.

"What? First day of school and you already have homework?"

"Yes."

"How rude" Cocoa sniffed.

KayKay ignored her and unscrewed the cover from a bottle of ink. She'd been scratching away with her quill for five minutes when she froze suddenly. She looked up at Cocoa slowly.

"What? Why'd you stop? Why are you looking at me like that?" the caranax asked quickly, appearing thoroughly uncomfortable under KayKay's eyes.

"Cocoa . . . will you please, _please_ do something for me?" KayKay ventured carefully.

"That depends . . ." Cocoa replied slowly and cautiously.

"Well . . . will you deliver a letter to Harry for me? Please?"

"Deliver a letter?" Cocoa echoed KayKay. Then, louder, "_Deliver_ a _letter_?! Am I suddenly demoted to a common post owl?!"

"No, Cocoa, of course not, but please, just deliver one letter for me? Just one?" KayKay pleaded quietly, aware of the looks she was attracting from her fellow students.

"Most certainly not! I'm not going to lower myself to the same standers as those of . . . of . . . of Pigwidgeon or Hedwig!" Cocoa was positively livid. "I hold Hedwig in the highest respect, but you can't truly expect me to do her same work. I'm a Counsel Caranax, not a Delivery Caranax! In fact, there isn't such a thing as Delivery Caranaxis, because _we don't do mail calls!_"

"Please Cocoa? Just one? One is _all_ I ask. Consider it . . . passing a note between friends."

"My answer is no." Cocoa sat back on her haunches, "And that's _final_."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Tell me again how many weeks we've been in school now?"

"One," Hermione replied, spreading marmalade on her toast. Harry groaned and let his head drop to the breakfast table with a fairly loud bang.

"Potions is catching up to you, eh mate?" Ron grinned, piling sausages onto his plate. Harry muttered something back that was illegible, but his tone was one of annoyance. Ron was about to ask if Harry could "Repeat that, just a little louder?" when Cocoa jumped onto the table.

"Mmph-hmmm!" She set the piece of paper in her mouth down on Harry's head. 

"Mail call!" she repeated. "I have been reduced to the workings of a common owl. No offense, Hedwig." She added quickly upon seeing the snowy owl ruffle her feathers at the insult.

"Well who's it from? They could have borrowed a school owl." Ron said. Cocoa looked at him as if he was thick.

"My mistress is schooled overseas, and owls don't fly overseas, not even—"

"_It's from KayKay?!_" Harry exclaimed, head flying up as he grabbed for the letter and tore it open in record time. He immediately started reading, oblivious to the fact that he had tipped over a pitcher of orange juice in his haste and that it was now dripping into his lap. Nothing was more important than the letter right now, and that anxious necessity to continue reading only grew larger as he got further.

__

September 9

Dear Harry,

Cocoa had told me of the snippets of conversation she's heard, and it seems that you guys have no idea what happened over my summer, so let me explain—no, there's not enough room. Let me summarize.

After I'd escaped my cousins for a bit of fun on my birthday, they got rather mad and Sue decided to retaliate by sending me to "General Norwood's Boot Camp for Incurably Criminal Witches". . . Sounds a bit like whatever odd boarding school you said the Dursleys told people you go to. I wonder if they've read the pamphlet.

As I was saying, I was sent to Boot Camp. I'm sure by now you've at least noticed Jacobs . . . Madison Jacobs, that is . . . I tried to send some letters to you guys, but it turns out the General was screening all the mail that went out. But watch out for the girl, she's never up to any good.

Well, suddenly around mid-August, my headmistress showed up at the camp and demanded my early release. I really had no idea what was going on (a little naïve, aren't I?) until she actually came out and told me a week later when she finally_ saw it fit that she speak with me._

Needless to say I went bit berserk, insisting that I had to see Dumbledore and trying to get a hold of the Floo Powder, which resulted in something akin to a wrestling match between the two of us. I'm proud to say that were it not for the fact that she's only in her mid-twenties and thus at the prime of her health she would never have managed to get the powder away from me and make me sit down again.

I ended up destroying my room afterwards anyhow. Water flooding off of a balcony is actually an interesting sight.

But to get back on track, I'm now in a mess of trouble. Since my cousins and their baby were killed, I again have no home, and the social workers are having an absolute hay day arranging a "nice, good orphanage" for me once the summer break begins. Everybody thinks I'm delusional when I tell them that Remus is my uncle. One guy actually tried to make me see a psychologist. I screamed in his face and threw the paper back at him in shreds.

I hope that his boss docked his pay for not even being able to control a teenager.

Be that as it may, I'm still stuck here with oblivious ministry members, a fellow student who seriously knows way_ too much about my life (is he a stalker???), and of course, Chad._

He just yelled "Hey!" He's reading this over my shoulder and says to tell you all that he said hi.

So, any getaway plans? Keep in mind that I have no Invisibility Cloak, no broomstick, no Marauders Map, no access to the headmistress' office for Floo Powder, no fireplace in the Team Dorm to use for Flooing anyhow, no nearby wizarding village to run to . . .

Oh, and one more thing . . . Madison may be a spoiled brat, but in all her times of antagonizing me she was right about one thing: you never know who is close to Voldemort. Over the summer he probably tried to target the youth to get them onto his side, so there's probably "mini" Death Eaters walking around Hogwarts by now. Don't do anything stupid. I know if I was there right now, you'd be giving me a look that plainly asked, "When do I ever do something stupid?" and the answer is: all the time. So you guys . . . just watch out for yourselves, okay? I've lost my guardians this year, I'm not sure what I'd do if I lost any of my friends.

Sincerely,

KayKay

P.S. I never got a hold of a newspaper . . . how did Sirius' trial go? Well, I hope!

P.P.S. Happy Birthday (a little late but what are you gonna do?)

P.P.P.S. You also may want to start thinking of new ways to communicate. It took me a week to convince Cocoa to deliver even this, and she vows that she'll never do it again.

It looked like she'd written another postscript, but it had been scribbled out to the point of no return.

"What does it say, Harry?" Hermione asked eagerly, peeking over his shoulder. "What's it about?"

Harry held up a hand to silence her before he started.

"It doesn't actually say much, considering how long it is, but we were half right. It _was_ her cousins that Voldemort attacked."

One watching the group could visually see their jaws all drop at this statement. To Harry, it would normally have been comical, but given the circumstances . . .

"It also says that the 'youth' that was killed was her cousin's newborn baby. She wasn't around at the time—"

"Well where was she then?" Megan interrupted.

"I think it was some sort of camp . . . hang on . . ." Harry scanned the letter once more. "Some boot camp for teen witches . . ."

The explosion came from all parties. "_ 'Boot camp'_ ?!" 

"Yes, and apparently Madison Jacobs was there too. You know, that new girl . . . but anyhow, her Headmistress came and got her early. She didn't have any idea what was happening until the lady told her about a week later. KayKay says that she went a little crazy."

"Her? Oh, never. Not after the way she flipped out on you last year . . ." 

A sharp elbow in the ribs from Hermione was all that was needed to make Ron shut up. Harry, seemingly oblivious, continued.

"They started to drag her to Social Workers . . . one actually thought she was delusional and tried to make her go to a psychologist."

"_What_?!" Megan shrieked, "Are you serious?!"

"Yeah, but that's not the worst of it. Nobody believes that Remus is her uncle. They're all trying to put her in an orphanage."

When Harry had begun reading, a spark of hope had ignited within him. More of her family had died . . . that was bad . . . but it also meant that Remus was quite obviously the best choice as a new guardian.

Not so, he'd discovered.

Not only that, but the way KayKay had written the letter. Yes, it was addressed to him, but it didn't seem to be written _to_ him. At the start of the summer, her letter was a bit more . . . casual, wasn't quite the right word. Relaxed, maybe? This letter had her humorous wit, sure enough, but it lacked the close, personal quality present in what she normally wrote.

Put most simply, it seemed distant. The "Forever and for Always" had been replaced with "Sincerely", and the mannerisms present . . .

"Can I see it Harry?" Megan requested, interrupting his thoughts. Harry handed the letter to her and stood up.

"Come on guys, it's almost time for class."

__

" . . . So, any getaway plans? . . ."

Harry set to work trying to think one up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

*A Caranax is a docile magic creature, closely resembling a Chihuahua. Cocoa was the Caranax that Ron and KayKay had to take care of in Care of Magical Creatures one year prior (students were allowed to keep them at the end of the year, so long as they had a permission form). Caranaxis have special powers: one may have the gift of knowledge, another healing, protection, or in Cocoa's case, counsel. Only Caranaxis with the gift of counsel can speak or, if they prefer, they can speak silently, sending their word's into a witch or wizard's thoughts. This is where the Muggle idea of someone having a conscience comes from.

Me again! (Who else?) Thanks for the reviewage, **Spunx182**! *big smiles*


	7. The Eye of the Storm

__

*~* Chapter Seven: The Eye of the Storm *~*

Time flew as it always did, and in a more literal sense so did most of Gryffindor House. Quidditch tryouts were a hit, and it wasn't very long until they had a good team up and running. Harry had been somewhat overwhelmed by the thought of conducting tryouts alone, so it was a very welcome relief when the Weasley twins showed up to help him in the process.

Ginny Weasley's Beater skills earned her that same position on the team, and Ron quickly gained his place as Keeper. They had both tried to get Hermione to try out for the team after seeing her wonderful performance at Harry's birthday party, but they didn't succeed.

"But Hermione, you're brilliant at Quidditch!"

"No, I told you already. How am I supposed to juggle my classes and practice at the same time? My schoolwork is more important."

So that was that. Schoolwork didn't stop Megan from trying out though, and she was placed as a Chaser. A Second Year named Dawn Megowin took her place as the second Beater, and Jesse Quincent and Andrew Knoll, both Third Years, became the other two Chasers, dispelling any rumors that Harry was playing favorites during tryouts.

Most of the new team when voting wanted Harry to be elected Captain. Harry, Ginny, and Megan, however, elected Ron, both knowing that while Harry was a good player, he was hopeless ion his knowledge and strategy of plays. When Harry pointed this out, the rest of the team (however reluctantly) changed their minds.

Ron placed them on a rigorous practice schedule and they started playing for all they were worth. When the first Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, rolled around on October 13, they positively flattened them, Gryffindor with 230 points and Hufflepuff with 10.

Meanwhile KayKay, quite a few countries and time zones away, was ready to tug her hair out from the roots. No, it wasn't because Matt was stalking her. Although his uncanny ability to know things about her she was sure she hadn't told him was somewhat disturbing, his bursting knowledge of KayKay's family status was actually due to his brother's position as a Social Worker. He (the brother, that is) still got together with the family sometimes, occasionally bringing up (against company policy) funny stories of his experience, and one day he came home with a story of a teenager who had screamed at him and shredded her appointment paper to bits before stomping away. Would that story ever cease to come back and haunt her? 

No, the reason she was so frustrated was all of the danged Ministry people thinking they knew everything about her and dragging her from one orphanage to the next on her Saturdays, trying to see which type she was most compatible with. She should be close to where she grew up, she should be near her school, she should go here with people her age, or wouldn't it be better somewhere fresh and new to her, like Oklahoma?

There was no way on Earth that she'd let these people send her to live in Oklahoma.

So there she was, eight weeks and seven orphanage tours into the school year, trying to think of a plan to avoid the inevitable tour that would be happening the next day. She wondered why Harry hadn't contacted her yet with an escape plan.

Then something happened that made her scream.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Harry twirled his quill in his fingers trying to think of what to write. It was pure accident that he'd bumped his watch from KayKay against his desk, but when a piece of parchment had popped up he'd suddenly remembered what one of the functions of it was. Instant mail.

Mail that required no owl.

Mail that disappeared as soon as it was written and reappeared next to the receiver.

Mail that could thus be sent across an ocean with ease.

He dipped the quill into his ink and started the conversation simply.

__

KayKay? Are you there?

The writing on the paper disappeared with a flash of light. Harry waited with bated breath for a reply. After a few minutes passed without one, Harry was about to try again when quite suddenly, an answer appeared.

__

Oh my God! Harry??? _What are you doing??? You scared me half to death!_

Harry grinned and scribbled a reply.

__

Talking to you, of course! What are you doing?

Trying to return my heart rate to normal so I can continue devising an avoidance plan for tomorrow. I have another Orphanage Tour. And why haven't you sent me that escape plan???

It's on my to-do list, lately I've been more concerned by finding out a way to get a hold of you.

In what way? KayKay replied. Harry could just imagine her grinning mischievously.

__

Well, in what way do you think? Wink, wink.

Oh, you just made me laugh! And now people are looking at me funny. Niiice people. Gooood people. Time to stop staring at KayKay. That's right. Go back to what you were doing . . . there's nothing to see here, just my knight in shining armor, come to rescue me from this thing you call life and I call torture . . .

It was Harry's turn to laugh now. _It isn't_ that _bad, is it?_

Allow me to paint a picture for you. I have lost family yet again. Nobody believes that I have remaining family alive. The most recent orphanage they considered putting me in was in Iowa. I'm sure you know very little of the United States, but Iowa is not a fun place. All it has is cows and cornfields. Would you like to be surrounded by strangers, cows, and cornfields???

I uh . . . I guess not. Sorry about that. I am trying to devise a getaway plan, but seeing how I'm not sure of all our assets, it's a bit difficult. I'll keep thinking though!

Oh Harry, you're the best. What would I do without you?

Harry smiled widely, feeling a strange warmth fill him. His next answer, while intended as a joke, was a very stupid mistake.

__

You'd have a simpler life, as I quote you from January.

January? Harry, January doesn't count! I was incomprehensibly and incorrectly angry with you in January! January never _counts, silly!_

Then what does?

I'm not sure. But not January. I say that the day we made up counts. That counts for a lot. 

Harry was quiet for a long time. Then, writing slowly, he answered.

__

What about the day you flew beck to America? What does that count for?

KayKay was quiet for even longer, but that didn't mean the writing was. The ink began to run in a few places, almost as if on the other end of the conversation, KayKay was crying. Then, one word.

__

Harry . . .

From the end of the "y" the line of ink dragged down to the bottom of the page, almost as if someone had grabbed her from behind and pulled her away. Harry waited, anxiety mounting. What wasn't she answering?

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ *

"So, what's the deal with KayKay Determan?"

KayKay's attention was caught. She peeked through the crack in the bathroom stall and watched the girls talking about her as they primped their hair at the mirror.

"I like, don't know? I thought like, that she was with that Chad guy?"

The subjects in question: Tiffany and Olivia. Tiffany was always humorous to listen to because she said everything like a question.

"No, no." Olivia insisted. "They've never dated. He's just like 'big brother' for her."

"Oh, 'cause I was like, wondering what was between her and that Matt guy? Have you seen them together? I always thought that KayKay was like, all anti-boy?"

"Weirdo" they both said together, giggling.

"Buy yeah, you're right. She'd _never_ date. She like, would distance herself from guys. But now she's going out with _Matt_?"

"He is like, so dreamy?" Tiffany cut in with a sigh. "Why do some girls have all the luck?"

Her? _Lucky?_ That was a laugh. And since when was she dating Matt?

"Hey, wasn't KayKay like, one of the girls who went to Hogwarts? I wonder if, like, something changed her mind about guys when she was there?"

"Hogwarts? Tiffany, isn't that like, the wizard school Harry Potter goes to?"

"Yeah. I like, wonder if she ever saw him in her classes?"

"Who knows? Maybe she even got to _meet_ him!" Olivia exclaimed. They looked at each other and spoke together again.

"Word!"

The bell rang then and the girls quickly bustled out of the bathroom. KayKay unlatched the stall door and walked out slowly, feeling the letter in her pocket that she and Harry's conversation was written on, the letter she'd luckily been able to get back from her teacher who had tried to take it away.

Had she _seen_ Harry Potter? Had she _met_ Harry Potter?! 

Who exactly _was_ the mystery Harry Potter anyhow? She thought she knew him. But what did he mean to her now?

"Girls," she whispered, "if only you knew."

Walking out of the bathroom and down to dinner, she added, "If only _I_ knew."

* * * * * 

"Ugh . . . no—more—orphanages!" KayKay muttered to herself through clenched teeth as she crawled into that bed that same night. "I ref . . . ref . . . refuse . . ." she yawned. Snuggling under her blankets, KayKay gently blew out the candle by her bed.

As soon as her head reached the pillow, she fell asleep. 

The next moment, she was awake again. She didn't remember waking up at all, but she had found herself in Saliente. KayKay remembered that it had been destroyed, but as she looked around, it was like it had never been touched. She was standing still in the middle of the crowd, not knowing what to do next, fully dressed in black robes. KayKay looked around and then saw three girls walking up to her. She backed away slowly and then the one who was in front who had bright blonde hair spoke. 

"Hi! I'm Chloe and I'm here to rescue you! This is Danielle and this is Andy! They wanted to help too! We're going to take you to England so you can live with Remus! Oh and of course marry Harry and have five kids!" Chloe said excitedly, as her pigtails bounced as she talked. KayKay looked at the three girls strangely and then tried to run away but Andy had stopped her. 

"I don't think so!" Andy said. "You want to live with your uncle and see Harry, don't you?" 

KayKay tried to speak but all that came out was a small squeak, so she nodded instead. 

"Well then, come with us." Danielle said. 

"I don't think I should . . . I mean, I don't even know who you people are and, well—" KayKay turned around and tried to run for it again but Danielle grabbed her arm and Chloe and Andy helped pull KayKay into the dark alleyway that was nearby. KayKay was about to scream but Andy put her hand over her mouth. 

"I'm sorry we had to do it this way KayKay, but you just wouldn't cooperate." Chloe said quietly. 

Then the four of them disappeared in a flash. They reappeared in a dungeon. KayKay was chained up on the wall. She looked around the room in horror, and struggled with her chains. 

__

How in the world did I get here? She asked herself. 

The girls she had met earlier were talking on the other side of the room. The one who called herself Andy sensed her gaze and turned around to meet KayKay's eyes. KayKay was startled to see something different in the girl's eyes . . . it was like fire burning in her brown eyes. It strongly reminded her or something, but she couldn't place her finger on it. 

Andy turned around and went back into the conversation. 

"I thought you said you were going to get me to Remus." KayKay said quietly. The three girls turned around at the same time, saying in unison, "We are." They then all smiled strange smiles. 

KayKay was very startled and frightened, to say the least.

"Okay so we need to get her to Remus! How are we going to get her there? Because well, she thinks we're going to hurt her and Andy your not helping, stop staring at her!" Chloe said as she saw Andy starring at KayKay once again. 

"Sorry." Andy said a grin on her face. 

"Andy, Chloe's right you can't be playing mind games with her. We're here on a rescue mission!" Danielle said. "We just need to take her to Lupin's house and then he can deal with her—"

"Andy! We have to make sure she gets to Harry! We can't just leave her at Remus's unless I know she will get to Harry's and then she can fall in love with him all over again, not with Matt!" KayKay had been trying to listen to the girl's conversation and when she heard "Matt" she finally spoke. 

"How do you know about Harry, Remus, Matt and how do you know about me?" As she spoke everyone could hear the panic in her voice. 

"Well that doesn't matter KayKay, dear." Andy said, staring at her again. 

"For the last time Andy, stop staring at her like that, you're scaring her!" Danielle said. 

"How can I scare her when she's already scared?" Andy asked. 

Chloe walked in front of Andy and put her hands on her hips, "You know what she means, Andy!" Chloe said. 

"I was just trying to have a little fun, don't be so mad. You're usually not like this—" Andy immediately stopped talking as she saw Chloe's face. It was as white as a ghost and her eyes were wide. 

"Chloe, what's wrong?" Danielle said concerned. Chloe didn't say a thing; all she did was point to something that was behind Andy and Danielle. They turned around and saw what Chloe had pointed to. Their eyes widened and Chloe and Danielle quickly took KayKay down from the wall while Andy took out her wand and pointed it at the intruder. It was wearing a black robe and its face was hidden under a large black baseball cap. 

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Chloe demanded. KayKay didn't know what was going on. All she wanted to do was go back to Escondito, was the too much to ask?! 

__

How did I get here and how do they know all this stuff about me? She thought. KayKay looked towards Andy and saw the relief that swept over her face as the creature took off its hat. 

"Oh, it's you," Andy breathed a sigh of relief. "We were afraid it was someone else, Aberforth." KayKay didn't recognize him. He did look strangely familiar. But for the life of her, she couldn't place from where. She took in some comfort that he was friends with these three girls. Even though she's positive she's never met them, they seemed to have good intentions. A small little voice in the back of her mind reminded her_, The road to hell is paved with good intentions._ She shuddered. 

"Well," Chloe started in her loud perky voice, "You're here to help us, aren't you Aberforth? I hope so, since it's beginning to seem we really, like, need the help." She put her hands on her hip and stared at him intently. 

"Oh, shush, Chloe," Danielle spoke up, "Of course he's here to help us. Now we have to . . ." Danielle then told him of their plan, talking quietly so KayKay couldn't hear them. It looked like this Aberforth person was already familiar with it. 

"Yes, that is what my brother had said you'd do. He warned me though, not to take that trail. That is why I am here." He said in a low raspy voice. 

"Well, like, then show us the way!" Chloe exclaimed, her ponytail bouncing. Aberforth had walked over to the corner of the cell where strange markings was carved on the wall of stone. He started gazing at them, from right to left, seemingly reading them. 

"I didn't know he knew how to read," Andy whispered to KayKay. He pushed lightly on a circle with a line half way through it. There was a shifting noise and then a panel moved aside, giving the room of one person to go through it at once. Aberforth in the lead, then Danielle, then Chloe, then KayKay, and lastly Andy they ventured into the narrow, very dusty corridor. 

"Ugh, I hate cobwebs!" KayKay heard Chloe complaining. "AH! A spider!" Chloe, having nowhere to run started spinning in circles, trampling the spider. 

Up ahead, Danielle and Aberforth were having a quiet discussion. Chloe was chattering to KayKay about her boyfriend at home. His name was Chris and they way Chloe described him he seemed like a god. KayKay listened. She was opened her mouth to start talking about Harry, but then an arrow of pain struck her heart and she kept quiet, saying little things and asking questions. After about ten minutes or so, they reached an end. It was like a cave. There was no way out except going back through that tunnel. She started to worry and then noticed that the other four didn't seem unperturbed. Then, suddenly, the top of the cave was opening. 

KayKay was reminded of that show she used to watch, only because her cousin-in-law made her. Captain Kirk would usually say, "Beam me up, Scotty" and then they would beam up. She remembered with a pang of guilt that he would still be making her watch that terrible show if everything was normal. She sighed heavily. The top of the cave had completely disappeared. But what was in the sky shocked everyone. 

The Dark Mark was hanging over their heads. 

Out of nowhere a dozen Death Eaters started shooting spells at the girls, mostly KayKay, but before any of their spells hit Andy did a counter spell that sent the Death Eaters spells back at them and all of the Death Eaters were on the ground. KayKay was scared more than ever now. 

Danielle saw this and said, "Don't worry KayKay we're almost there it should only be like thirty more minutes. Right Chloe and Andy?" 

KayKay didn't look relieved. She wondered how in the world she was suppose to feel safe when a dozen Death Eaters tried to kill her and the Andy person knew how to kill them quicker than their spells hit. KayKay then snapped back to what the three girls and the other person, Aberforth, were saying. 

"Yea Danielle I like, think that we are almost there but I don't know, Andy knows though." Chloe said starring intently at Andy. 

"Yes you are almost there, just walk towards the moon." Aberforth said as he watched Andy starring at something in the distance. They kept walking for a while and then walked up a short hill and came to an empty field. 

"This is it." Andy said simply. 

"Chloe you have the necklaces right?" Danielle asked Chloe, KayKay wondered what necklaces Danielle was talking about, and anxiously waited for Chloe's reply, but she didn't hear it because Chloe was starring at the beautiful half moon. 

"I have to go, so bye." Aberforth said and then disappeared in a flash. Chloe then snapped out of her daze and answered Danielle's question. 

"Of course I have the necklaces! I never leave without mine, and I wouldn't forget them tonight especially." Chloe said that, and then grabbed three silver necklaces, there was a dragon, a snake, and a butterfly wrapped around a glass container that contained different colored fairy dust.

"Here you go. KayKay just put this necklace on and then when I say, take a pinch of the fairy dust, sprinkle it over your head." Chloe said as she handed KayKay the dragon necklace, and then hopped over to where Danielle and Andy were. KayKay wondered what "fairy dust" would do to her, since she had no clue where the three girls were, or who they were. 

"Uh-oh I don't know where my necklace is!" Chloe said after she had handed the girls the necklaces. Andy looked like she was about to kill Chloe as she grabbed her shirt and stopped her from running around. 

"Chloe, your necklace is on your neck!" Andy screamed and walked to the other side of the hill. 

"Oops, sorry . . ." Chloe said as she saw her necklace. Danielle then went over to Andy and whispered something so quiet that KayKay couldn't hear her, until Danielle started laughing. KayKay looked down to the bottom of the hill, and decided that she would go and try to find her way back to Escondito. She figured it wouldn't take long for her to find a way to get back. She turned around and silently counted backwards from ten. When she hit "one" and was about to run, Chloe and Andy had been waiting for her to do this. 

"How did you . . ." KayKay said sighing. 

"I'm psychic!" Chloe said perkily. Andy and Danielle rolled their eyes and brought KayKay to the center of the top of the hill, as Chloe did cartwheels to follow them. 

"Chloe calm down already! You would think since you haven't slept in three days you would calm down some." Danielle said as she stood behind KayKay. 

"Can't help it." Chloe said as she ran over beside KayKay happily. 

Andy then said a complicated spell and everyone grabbed the fairy dust, including the reluctant KayKay. They disappeared in a flash of vibrant color and then reappeared in front of some type of lagoon. The girls had all changed clothes and KayKay was more freaked out than ever, until she saw what, or whom Chloe was pointing at. 

"_Ohmygod!_ REMUS!" KayKay exclaimed as she saw her uncle setting in a chair by the Lagoon. 

"KayKay? How did you get here? Who are those people? Why aren't you in The United States . . ." Remus never finished the rest of his ongoing questions. 

"Remus I don't know how I got here. They say there names are Andy, Chloe, and Danielle, and I don't know, one minute I was at Escondito and the next I was in Saliente, but it was destroyed and . . ." 

This time someone cut off KayKay. "Remus, you don't know me but I know who you are, and, well, you have to go and talk to Dumbledore about her before she is sent to one of those stupid orphanage or something worse, and she has to see Harry before it's too late!" Chloe exclaimed as she finally spoke. 

"Remus I know what your thinking and I don't know who she is but she's right you do need to talk to Dumbledore, I'll explain everything later." KayKay said, and then her uncle got up and led her and the three girls that followed out of the lagoon area and into a house where they took floo powder to Hogwarts. 

They arrived in Dumbledore's office and to KayKay's disbelief she saw Harry standing right by the doorway. Dumbledore, who was sitting at his desk, asked KayKay and Harry to leave while he talked to Remus. 

"KayKay I thought I would never see you again! Before I had got your letter I had thought you were dead." Harry said as they walked out of the Headmaster's Office. 

"Harry, you wouldn't believe what's happened! One minute I was in Escondito, and the next minute I was in an undestroyed village that I know had been destroyed and—" 

Harry cut her off by leaning close to kiss her, but KayKay woke up as soon as Harry's lips touched her own.

She sat straight up in her bed with a gasp and, with trembling fingers, touched her lips. It must have all been a dream . . . but it had felt so _real!_

"Well it's about time you woke up! Honestly, I've never known you to be such a deep sleeper!"

KayKay must have jumped three feet in shock before looking around furiously for whomever had spoken.

"Chad!" she admonished, "you can't be in here!"

"Says who?" he retorted, pulling some clean robes from KayKay's trunk.

"Says me!" KayKay exclaimed, scrambling to the foot of her bed and slamming the trunk shut, "stay out of there!"

"Well, none of the girls were being of much assistance, and you _know_ how ticked O'Connor will be since you're late—"

"I'm _what_!?" KayKay looked at her watch and groaned, before flying into action.

"And of course I still need to shower, and then get my hair a _bit_ dry so I can get it into a ponytail, and get dressed . . ." She muttered, digging through her trunk for shampoo.

"No time" Chad insisted, throwing a pair of jeans, a tee shirt, and some school robes at KayKay.

"But I stink!" KayKay insisted, trying to get the shampoo again.

"No you don't, you smell like roses or something, honest, and if it gets bad enough you can spray some of my cologne on yourself."

KayKay rolled her eyes. "Yes, _that'll_ make a good impression when I try to explain why I'm late."

"Then borrow some of that smelly spray from one of the girl's trunks if you have to! Hey! I told you there's no time for a shower!" Chad insisted when KayKay tried to get at the trunk again.

"I know, but I at _least_ have time to change my underwear, don't I?"

In retort, Chad threw a pair at her. She glowered at him a moment and said, "You're the only male on the planet who gets away with that, I hope you know."

"Hey, brother's privilege!" Chad called after her as she stalked into the bathroom and slammed the door. "And if I hear that water running, you're going to get it!"

Two minutes later, KayKay ran back out of the bathroom, yanking a brush through her hair as she looked around for her tennis shoes.

"There!" she exclaimed, hanging upside down over the edge of the bed and dragging them out from underneath.

"Okay, ready with two seconds to spare!" KayKay exclaimed, heading to the door without bothering to tie them.

"Hey . . ." Chad said, pulling KayKay back and giving her a hug, "Good luck, kiddo."

"Thanks, Chad." KayKay replied with a small grin, she looked at her watch, gave a small yelp of alarm, and tore down the stairs. Not far from the headmistresses office she ran headlong into someone.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't see—oh, it's only you, well, goodbye then!" KayKay exclaimed in a rush, pushing herself to her feet and hopping over Matt.

"Wait KayKay, I was thinking we—"

"Not _now!_ Jeez!" KayKay yelled, brushing him off and continuing on. 

"Good morning . . . Professor . . . O' Connor . . . KayKay panted upon reaching her destination.

"You are late." The headmistress said, obviously displeased.

"Yeah . . . sorry . . ." she coughed, "Sorry about that. But I'm here now, so let's not keep the torture waiting any longer, shall we?"

"KayKay . . ."

"Joking, joking, jeez lighten up," KayKay rolled her eyes, putting her hand on the portkey Professor O'Connor held out to her. She felt the familiar tug and braced her feet as they landed in the office of a Social Worker.

"You are late" was the first thing from the man's mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, everyone blame the adolescent here . . ." KayKay muttered, throwing herself into a chair and slouching down low.

"KayKay!" her headmistress admonished.

"Hey, you show me a teenager jolly with excitement at being placed in an orphanage, and I'll be Little-Miss-Sunshine the whole time, a regular Elf." KayKay retorted, sinking lower into her seat. The Social Worker looked at her, and then at the headmistress.

"I'm certain that when this whole issue is settled, she will be much better off. She needs time to be adjusted, of course, and . . ."

"It's also annoying when you're talked about like you're not in the room!" KayKay half-shouted.

"KayKay, stop acting like a child!"

"Why not, you people are treating me like one! And no one has even _spoken_ to Dumbledore about—"

"Enough of the Uncle-delusions!" Professor O'Connor exclaimed, rubbing her temples. "If he existed—"

"May I go get some water?" KayKay spoke over her to the Social Worker.

"YES! GO AND GET SOME WATER!" the headmistress shouted, grabbing KayKay by the arm and dragging her from her seat.

"Ow, jeez, no need to get nasty!" KayKay whined, struggling to keep up with the woman. She opened the door and pushed KayKay out before slamming it shut again behind her.

"Honestly, that girl simply drives me crazy!" KayKay heard her exclaim. Grinning in self-satisfaction, she pulled out a slip of paper from her back pocket and made an "X" on it.

"And that's a check for week eight . . ."

She slipped the paper into her pocket again and looked around the hall.

"Now . . . where's the water fountain?"

KayKay shrugged and began walking left, not caring too much about where she was going. It wasn't like she was actually thirsty. She contented herself with roaming the halls. If she got in trouble, she would be able to say honestly that she didn't know where the fountains were.

Happy with this excuse, KayKay almost smiled as she wandered absentmindedly. She originally planned not to read any signs, lest her excuse become false, so she had already passed one by a few steps when she froze and backtracked. She read the sign, once, twice, thrice, before grinning widely at the words.


	8. A Way

__

*~* Chapter Eight: A Way *~*

"Floo Station" she repeated to herself, looking at the arrow indicating that she should turn right to get to the fires.

It took only a second for her to make her decision.

Trying to go somewhere when her headmistress had no idea of it was bad. It was disobedient, dangerous, and it would naturally cause a great worry. Both the Social Worker _and_ the headmistress could get in serious trouble if she disappeared, and it wasn't like she could just pop in at Hogwarts. It didn't work that way, of course, and the uproar it would cause at both ministries was not a very positive thing.

Plus, she had _just_ gotten over Harry (Okay, not _exactly_, but pretty close . . . well, actually not close at all, she still maybe liked him a little . . . okay, so maybe she still liked him a lot . . .). What would it do to her, to both of them, if she were to simply pop up?

No, it was a bad idea . . .

. . . which was why KayKay did it.

"Oof!" KayKay stood up slowly, dusting herself off and taking in her surroundings. She had never been at the Floo Station in Hogsmeade, so her directions were a bit inside out. 

Well, she had to start somewhere, so she simply picked herself up and walked out and into the street. She shivered as a gust of wind rushed by, making her hair fly wild. She had forgotten that it was the next day was Halloween, and that in England that meant bitter cold. She had gotten used to the eternal warmth that greeted her every morning at Escondito.

Shivering inside her robes, KayKay set off towards what she hoped was a path to Hogwarts. She hadn't gotten far though, before someone behind her clapped a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Now, what have we here?"

Not for the first time that morning . . . or day, rather, because in Europe it was six in the evening already . . . KayKay jumped with a yelp, before turning around and hugging the man, sagging with relief.

"Uncle Remmy." she sighed, smiling as he held her protectively.

"My Little Kayleigh, what are you doing here?" Remus exclaimed, drawing back and inspecting her. "Are you here to see Dumbledore?"

"No . . ." KayKay answered, rubbing her arms to try to warm them and conveniently not meeting his eyes.

"Well then? Why _are_ you here?" he asked, putting an arm around her shoulders to keep her a bit warmer as they turned and went back the way they came.

"I'm here because I don't want to be put in an orphanage. Orphanages are for people with no family left, not kids who still have uncles."

"Well why are they trying to place you in an orphanage in the first place? They should know I'd be more than happy to . . ."

"They won't believe me." KayKay said quietly, looking at her feet. "They all think I'm delusional. I explained it all to Harry," she looked up at him again, "he never told you?"

Remus looked bewildered. "No, actually."

KayKay rolled her eyes and sighed. "Typical. He's a guy, why would he think to tell you?"

She shook her head, then looked at Remus again.

"I've told you why _I'm_ here, but what about you? Professors don't normally go on strolls through Hogsmeade all alone in frigid temperatures, do they?"

"No, it's the same as always. I'm just having more trouble than normal recovering from the full moon. It's always worse near Halloween, so Dumbledore gave me permission to go home to recover away from the cold castle."

It was then, as they stepped in front of the Floo fires again, that KayKay noticed the tired way he carried himself and the dark circles beneath his eyes.

"I'm going to Floo home, and you should Floo to Hogwarts and talk to Professor Dumbledore. He can help you with the orphanage problem and, knowing him, it won't take long."

KayKay nodded in agreement, but after Remus had Flooed away and it was her turn, she didn't Floo to Hogwarts . . .

"I still say you should have flooed to see Professor Dumbledore!" Remus admonished as KayKay handed him a cup of steaming tea.

"And leave you alone, sick? Yeah right!" KayKay exclaimed, taking his shabby cloak from him and hanging it on the coat rack. "You go ahead and make yourself comfortable, I'll just . . . explore the house a little."

Remus looked ready to protest, but KayKay didn't give him the opportunity. She bustled out of the room, set to explore, but first she had to be certain to get Remus some parchment and a quill so he could write to Dumbledore.

The first room she came to was the kitchen, a place she'd already explored and dismissed. But perhaps there was a junk drawer . . .

The room was small, but quite nice, with a small stove, icebox, and cupboards made of warm pine. She began rifling through the drawers.

__

Of course, it would figure. Uncle Remmy is to organized to have a junk drawer.

She decided it had to be a teacher thing.

Exiting the room, she climbed a winding staircase she found on her right. Everything in the house seemed to fit into a tidy description of a log cabin.

The first room upstairs was a bedroom. The second was a bathroom. The third one gave her chills. There was a heavy bolt on the door, bars on the window, and a simple mattress on the floor in the corner. There were no rugs or furniture, and on the wood of the walls were long, deep scratches. 

Getting a sudden chill up her spine, KayKay quickly left the room, shutting the door tightly behind her and sighing audibly at the warm glow of the cheery hall. There was no question of what purpose the room served, and she sincerely hoped that its necessity had long since passed at the discovery of the Wolfsbane Potion.

The last room upstairs was a success, yielding a desk, telescope, shelves of books and, naturally, paper and quills. She grabbed some, which was obviously unnecessary as she saw what awaited her downstairs.

"Professor Dumbledore!" she exclaimed in surprise, resisting the urge to give him a hug of relief. "How did you . . . I mean, I just got here . . ."

"There's very little that gets past Professor Dumbledore, Kayleigh." Remus said with a smile.

"Yes, I've been keeping track of you since discovering you possessed the powers." Dumbledore nodded.

"But . . . how?"

"I will explain everything in a moment, but let's sit down first. I shall explain to you what I know, and you can explain what you know. Shall we?"

"Oh, of course. I'll get some more tea." KayKay replied, turning to go to the kitchen.

"No need," Dumbledore said easily, waving his wand to conjure a tray of tea and biscuts. "Please, sit. I will explain.

"When you left for the summer, I knew to some extent the plans Lord Voldemort had, through a well trusted spy—"

"Who?" KayKay hadn't taken her eyes off of Dumbledore and therefore the sugar she'd slowly been spooning into her tea was going over the edge of the cup.

"I don't believe that is of any importance, KayKay." Dumbledore said softly, taking the sugar spoon out of her hand and placing it back in the bowl. KayKay looked very shocked indeed when she looked down at her cup, but she simply set it down and said, "I'm sorry. You were saying?"

"Yes, I was. So I knew some of Voldemort's plans, but I still wanted to have someone looking out for you. Luckily, I wizard family I knew lived close to you and, an even greater stroke of luck, they had a child near your age.

"He was instructed to keep a close watch on you and, if you went anywhere, to try to stay nearby. However, on July fourth you encountered him and—"

"Matt!" KayKay exclaimed in sudden realization. "_Matt_ was deemed my protector? He could have maimed me!"

"I'm certain that your collision with him was incidental." Dumbledore said with a twinkle of amusement in his eye. "Still, he decided his job would be easier served as an ally to you, so he did all he could to help you.

"That same day, my spy returned to me with the information that an attack was being planned against your home. I had to intervene without making it obvious that I was getting information.

"I had Matt slip the paper into your cousin's mailbox, along with some Persuasion Powder. It worked. You were sent to a boot camp where again, you would be under close watch, even if the General himself didn't realize it. I had a plan to protect your family but as you can see, I failed. Voldemort and his Death Eaters attacked earlier than originally planned. I am sorry."

KayKay looked up into Dumbledore's sad eyes. He really did regret the way things turned out and he blamed himself, that much was clear.

"There was nothing you could have done, Professor Dumbledore, I understand that. You don't need to feel bad about it. Thank you for doing so much to help me, I . . . I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been looking out for me . . ."

Remus reached out and put a warm hand on KayKay's shoulder. It brought her a strange sense of comfort just knowing her uncle was beside her, and it renewed her confidence.

"There's just one thing I don't understand . . . how did you know I was here?" KayKay asked Dumbledore.

"I was scrying."

"You were what-ing?"

"Scrying, KayKay, is the practice of watching someone in a mirror, water, or glass. You can keep an eye on them, and I did so every time you had to leave your school for meetings with a Social Worker and such."

"So that means . . . that means that you knew all along that they weren't believing me about Remus!" KayKay gasped angrily.

"Yes, I suppose I am guilty of that charge. I did, however, think it would be more humorous to spring the news on them at a time where they could be publicly embarrassed, such as in the custody trial." Dumbledore said with a somewhat crafty grin. KayKay couldn't help but grin along with.

"Now," Dumbledore leaned forward, "since the itinerary has changed, we have to make a new plan. Let us get started."

* * * * *

The Halloween feast was as bright and fun as ever, with piles of sweets and carved pumpkins that leered and grinned wickedly from every corner. The Great Hall buzzed with chatter, and Hermione, Ron, Megan, and Harry were in high spirits.

"Here's a toast to the trampling of Hufflepuff that we so cleanly executed at our last Quidditch game!" Ron said, holding up his goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Ron, that was more than two weeks ago!" Hermione exclaimed, laughing.

"Yeah but our first game, our first victory . . . you've got to celebrate, don't you?"

"Nevermind that the Hufflepuff team has always been easy to beat." Harry said with a sly but meaningful grin.

"I don't care, I'll drink to it." Megan said, clicking her goblet against Ron's and emptying it in one long chug.

"Drink much?" Hermione teased as Megan refilled her goblet.

"Hey, not looking like a guy doesn't mean I can't eat like one!" Megan exclaimed with a giggle.

"Yeah, but you'll never manage to _sound_ like one." Harry added.

"There are some guys that giggle!" Megan insisted.

"Oh yeah? Name one."

Megan looked at her watch and then to the Slytherin table before looking back at Harry.

"Three, two, one . . . zero!"

On "zero" she pointed to Draco who was sitting near the center of the table. Right on cue, he began to shake as if laughing silently, but soon the Great Hall quieted, first by the kids around him, then the next ring of students, and the next, until all that could be heard was Draco Malfoy. He was giggling uncontrollably, growing louder and louder, but he appeared to have no idea why he was laughing so oddly. Madison, who had been sitting next to him, was now scooted as far away as she could as if he was contagious. Clapping a hand over his mouth, Draco stumbled out of his seat and ran out of the Great Hall, causing all those still within it to break out into riotous laughter.

"Megan . . . you . . . you . . ." Harry choked. Ron was practically dying with laughter; he was hitting the table with his fist and he probably would have trouble breathing soon. 

Megan blushed modestly and admitted, "Well, KayKay told me to do something to him for her. I just needed a good idea."

"Oh, speaking of which, have you heard from KayKay, Harry?" Hermione asked, taking deep breaths to regain her composure.

"No, actually. It's strange, but she hasn't replied to any letters I've sent . . ."

"Well, when do you send them? You do mean letters by your watch, right?"

"Yeah. I dunno, I've only sent a couple, one a bit after the first one got cut off, then another the next morning."

"Harry you idiot!" Megan exclaimed, hitting him in the head.

"Ow!"

"I bet that after waiting for her to reply a few minutes you close the conversation, right?" Megan continued.

"Well, yeah . . ."

Megan hit him again.

"You idiot!

"Yes, I think we've established that by now." Harry said, rubbing the back of his head. "What did I do wrong _this_ time?"

"Harry, you're a fairly smart kid. Have you ever heard of _time zones_? Whenever you write to her she's either asleep or in class where she _can't_ reply!"

"Oh . . ." Harry said in sudden realization. "Well, it's eight thirty here, so what time is it there? Is she in class right now? Ow! Stop hitting me!"

"Think now Harry. Use whatever goo it is inside your head that you call a brain. What day of the week is it?"

"Sunday?"

"Very good. Now, what don't we have on Sunday?"

Harry pondered a long time before asking slowly, "Tea?"

"Classes! We don't have classes, you idiot!" Megan almost shouted. She tried to hit him across the back of the head again but he ducked. Hermione and Ron were simply watching in amusement. 

Harry looked at his cup, then at Ron and asked, "You didn't by any chance put something in this, did you?"

"No, even though I wanted to, I think your stupidity is brought on by natural means tonight." Ron laughed.

"I was afraid of that. Okay then, I suppose now is as good of a time as any to send her one . . ."

Harry quickly filled out the greeting for his message and waited for KayKay to reply. It didn't take long.

__

Oh, hi! I was wondering when you'd get around to writing to me again. Having a good Halloween? You're probably at the feast right now, right?

Yeah, we are. At least you have this time-zone thing understood, I tried to send you a letter at one in the morning your time!

Time zones? Oh, right. Time zones. Yeah, well, I'm pretty good with that. Right on the time zone thing. I mean, we might as well be in the same_ time zone. Yeah . . ._

KayKay, are you all right? Megan wrote, grabbing control of the quill.

__

What? Yeah, of course I'm fine! All good here! Just swinging in the hammock, talking to . . . ah . . . who is this now?

Megan. And when did we get a hammock in the Dorm?

Oh, uh . . . it belongs to a friend of mine, he doesn't mind if I use it.

"He" doesn't mind? You can't see me, but I'm raising my eyebrows suggestively—

Harry grabbed the paper back and scribbled, _"He"?_

Is this Harry again? Harry, calm down. Trust me, dating is the last_ thing that would happen between the two of us. BELIEVE me. If you knew who he was, you'd feel dumb even asking—_

Well, who is it then?

It doesn't matter, you don't know anyone at my school.

I don't, but Megan does. She can explain to me what the person is like.

"Ah, Harry? I'd appreciate if I wasn't placed in the middle of your fights with KayKay." Megan said softly.

"Megan, it's not a fight!" Harry insisted.

"Yes it is. I know when these things are coming up."

__

"She can tell you what the person is like"??? She can tell you what the person is like, oh that's great. You can't even believe me? You know me!

I know what you're like, but I don't know what—

And if you've forgotten Harry, it's not like the two of us are dating, so I highly suggest that you stop acting like the jealous boyfriend. Go out and get yourself a hobby or maybe even a girlfriend! How about a nice, bratty MADISON JACOBS??? All of her suspicious behavior can start training you to be less paranoid! Even if I WAS interested in this guy, which I assure you, I am NOT, I don't need your permission!

Hey, if anyone here is in the wrong, it's you, not—

I have to go Harry. It's already a quarter to noon, and I have to go out and roam the halls, flirting and sleeping with every boy above Fourth Year that I meet. KayKay wrote sarcastically.

Everyone started at the paper for a full minute after KayKay had finished. Megan was the first to move. She grabbed the letter, rolled it up, and whacked Harry across the back of the head with it as hard as she could before tossing it carelessly back onto his plate and walking out. Hermione and Ron made a more subtle exit. And it was Harry who was left sitting at the table, hitting his forehead with the heel of his hand, muttering, "Stupid, stupid, stupid . . ."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" KayKay exclaimed, hitting herself on the forehead. "Why am I so stupid?!"

She flopped back into the hammock and looked around the room. She was on Remus' front porch (which thankfully, was heated and enclosed). On the table at her left were some cookies she'd made earlier and some pumpkin juice. Remus was away with Dumbledore, probably still trying to work out the custody issue. He should have been at home. He still looked ill . . .

She grabbed her pillow and smothered her face with it. Why hadn't she just _told _Harry that she was at Remus' house?

__

Maybe because Dumbledore told you not to?

"Shut up." KayKay groaned into her pillow.

__

Well that's a kind way to greet your visitor, I must say. Any more kind words?

KayKay felt something . . . or more appropriately, some_one_ jump up onto her stomach.

"Oh, Cocoa, it's you! Sorry, I didn't know . . ." KayKay said when she lifted the pillow to see her caranax stretched out lazily on her belly.

"I noticed. But as I said, it's good that you didn't tell Harry. He should feel content with your assurances that your 'friend' is no threat to his boyish dignity."

"You can say that again! He _will_ feel dumb when I explain that it was Remus. I mean, my uncle is also my friend!"

"Of course." Cocoa agreed. "And you couldn't very well say 'It's my uncle' or 'It's my guardian', now could you?"

"No, because then they'd know and Dumbledore would not be very happy with me." KayKay validated.

"Definitely! Now, let's go get some ice cream!"

"Let's!" 

Cocoa jumped to the floor and began to trot towards the doorway. KayKay rolled out of the hammock and followed.

"I wonder when Remus will be getting back." KayKay said, looking at the clock that read 9:03 as she passed to the kitchen.

"Soon, I'm certain." Cocoa reassured her. "So I take it that the porch is your new bedroom?"

"That would be correct." KayKay said, digging through the icebox. "Thank goodness it's less of a deck and more of a room! Remus says that if I end up staying with him, we can change it or at least get a real bed, but I like it this way. Ah!"

She spotted some chocolate ice cream and pulled it out. After spooning some out for herself, she looked down at Cocoa.

"You can have chocolate and dairy, right?"

"But of course! I'm not some common—"

"Post owl" KayKay finished with a roll of her eyes. "I got it. Here you go." 

KayKay sat down on the wooden floor to eat her ice cream with Cocoa, but she'd barely begin when she heard the whoosh of someone arriving by Floo Powder.

"Oh, he's home!" KayKay exclaimed happily, putting the bowl and spoon up on a counter and pushing herself up quickly.

"I'm glad you're back Uncle Remmy," KayKay said, hurrying to the door between the kitchen and living room. "I was getting—"

She froze when she saw who had stumbled out of the fireplace. It wasn't her uncle.

Cocoa, who'd trotted in behind her, began to growl, snapping KayKay out of her trance. She grabbed a heavy book from the coffee table beside her and held it up, ready for swinging. _Why_ did she leave her wand on the porch?

"Whoa, down Kitty. I come in peace. It's not like you don't know me or something."

"Oh, that's right, you're supposed to be my fierce protector-slash-stalker." KayKay said, not taking her eyes off of Matt as he walked closer. "So then why do you feel the need to prowl instead of announcing that you're around?"

"Ah, because little Kayleigh," he said slowly, adopting a Russian accent, "maybe alerting you to my presence was not my intent. Perhaps, little one . . ." he began to circle her, "perhaps you trust that Remus was Remus and Dumbledore was Dumbledore too readily. Something you must learn in the real world is to always look at a situation from both sides. To always question what you think you know."

In a flash he grabbed the wrist of her raised arm and pulled the book out of it easily, letting it fall to the floor. His gaze penetrated right through KayKay's eyes and straight down into her soul. A soft, almost dreamy smile crossed his face. She relaxed.

"Very funny, Cassa Nova. So why are you _really_ here?" she asked, equally soft and gentle. 

"I can't remember at the moment . . ." Matt answered slowly, his eyes not leaving hers. "I'm too busy using all of my willpower to not kiss you right now . . ."

KayKay blushed deeply. This wasn't just a line—it was easy to tell when guys were just giving you a line—Matt's expression was too amazed and his answer too sincere. It scared KayKay a bit, to be truly honest.

Luckily—or maybe unluckily—they were interrupted by another pop-up message.

__

KayKay? Listen, I thought about what you said . . .

Matt looked at the paper in absolute shock before taking the quill and quickly writing, _Who is this?_

Harry . . . who is this_?_

Oh, I'm Matt. Now if you'll excuse me, Kayleigh and I are in a romantically passionate embrace at the moment. If you care to call back later—

KayKay elbowed him away. _Matt, stop teasing him! Hi Harry._

KayKay, what's going on over there?

Aurgh, Harry! Matt and I were just talking_. You know, casual conversation between two people? I mean, you talk to Hermione and Megan, and it's not like they're dating you. So I'm perfectly capable of talking to someone of an opposite gender without is being some . . . scandal. Okay?_

Okay, okay, I'll be a good doggie. Woof.

Thank you. I'll talk to you tomorrow then, okay?

All right then. Goodbye.

Bye, Harry.

Matt looked at KayKay as she folded up the paper and slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans.

"Your boyfriend?" Matt asked casually.

"Ah . . ." KayKay faltered a moment before answering assertively, "No, he's my friend, actually."

"Oh. So he won't kill me for wanting to kiss you?"

"I didn't say that. He'll still kill you." KayKay said, carefully not meeting his eyes lest he become lost again . . . or, worse, lest _she_ become lost in _his_ eyes. "You really freaked him out with that comment, you know."

"Oh, I'm sorry—"

"Don't be. He deserved it." KayKay grinned wickedly, causing Matt to laugh.

"Now, why don't we get some ice cream while you explain to me why you're _really_ here?" She said, motioning for him to follow her to the kitchen.

"Well, first of all, Professor O'Connor believed that you wouldn't very much enjoy wearing the same outfit for five days until your trial. So she wanted me to bring your trunk," Matt pulled her shrunken trunk out of his pocket and set it on the table as KayKay began spooning ice cream into another dish. "Second, _I_ wanted to come to have the chance to see you again, since it could be my last chance."

"Your last chance?" KayKay asked, handing him his bowl of ice cream and sitting down across from him at the small table. "So, does that mean that my chances of staying here are good?"

"Actually—"

There was a sudden zigzag of lightning and loud clap of thunder, throwing the room into darkness.

"Whoa. That was abrupt."

"Yeah. Do you have any candles?" Matt agreed.

"I'm not sure," KayKay replied, standing slowly and sliding her chair in so she wouldn't trip on it. "We probably do, but I still need to get oriented with the pla-ACE!"

She tripped on the rug and went flying forward, plowing straight into Matt and almost making the both of them fall.

"Whoa, all right there KayKay?" Matt asked softly, holding her forearms gently as he helped her steady herself. "You could have gotten seriously hurt there . . ."

"Ah . . . yes, I'm fine." KayKay said, turning and walking slowly towards where she thought the drawers were, feeling her way along the counter. She, quite thankfully, found candles in the first drawer she opened. 

She grabbed a handful of them and stumbled back to the table placing them all in the center.

"Please tell me you have your wand on you?" KayKay pleaded.

"Yeah, one second. Oh, maybe you should stand away from the table."

"What a brilliant deduction, Sherlock." KayKay said, taking quite a few steps away from the aforementioned candles.

"Incendia!" 

Fire flew from Matt's wand and lit all of the candles, leaving a nice, flickering light. As the storm raged on outside, KayKay and Matt sat down to their ice cream again.

"Now, where were we? Oh yeah." KayKay dug her spoon into her bowl, "How are my chances looking at staying out of an orphanage?"

"Ah . . ."

KayKay looked up at Matt's expression and winced.

"That bad, huh?"

"Well . . . do you want it straight?" Matt asked slowly, pushing his bowl aside.

"Ummm . . . I somewhat afraid to hear, but yes."

"Okay, this is how it is. The ministry, for some crazy reason, doesn't want you to be relocated to a different ministry. They've pulled top experts of law and ordinance to work on the case. Your Social Worker and O'Connor are going nuts about it. They don't want to loose the case, especially not to a Werewolf and a schoolteacher. I don't see why they have such stubborn prides. I mean, being with your Uncle is what you _want_ . . ."

"My Social Worker . . . your brother." Matt confirmed this with a nod. "So your brother would do near anything to trap me in Iowa with cows and cornfields." Another nod.

"You know Steven Spielberg?" This time KayKay nodded. "The attorney they've gotten is like the Steven Spielberg of Lawyers."

"Great." KayKay said, leaning back in her chair. "Just great."

There were a few moments of silence, filled with nothing but the sound of pouring rain outside. Then, tentatively, KayKay asked,

"So . . . what about you? Do feel the same as your brother?"

"Well . . ." Matt said slowly, tracing the wood grain of the table with his finger and not looking at KayKay, "I don't want you to go to an orphanage . . ."

KayKay prompted, "But . . . ?"

"But." He sighed, putting his hand down flat and looking up at KayKay "I don't want to not see you again. I'd miss you, KayKay."

A small smile crossed KayKay's face. "Really?"

"Really, really." he answered, leaning back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling sadly, hands folded behind his head. They remained like that a bit, simply enjoying the quiet in their normally hectic lives.

Both from different backgrounds, both with different ideas, both having met by the fate of an amazing power that could save or destroy their very world. What would it have been like, had KayKay _not_ lived that Christmas Day that the rest of her family died? What would have happened to the world she knew now? 

Pondering made KayKay's head spin, so she shifted her gaze away from the window and her thoughts away from the past. Grabbing a lit taper, she stood up so abruptly that Matt, who was balancing his weight on the back legs of the chair, toppled backwards with a crash.

"Ouch . . . that's going to leave a mark . . ." Matt groaned, sitting up slowly and looking at KayKay, who had a hand over her mouth to refrain from giggling.

Matt must have seen the twinkle in her eye. "Oh, go ahead, laugh it up," he grumbled, rubbing the back of his head with one hand and using the other to pull himself up. "Let's get your trunk into your room, eh?"

"Yeah, this . . . this way" KayKay said, breathing deeply so as to not laugh at Matt's misfortune. She led him to the porch, and practically the first thing he said was:

"You play the guitar?" He picked up KayKay's acoustic (which she'd been able to repair as soon as school had begun, thank GOODNESS), and studied it.

"Well, yes . . . do you?"

"Actually, I do. D'you . . . do you mind if I play something?" he requested, sitting down on the edge of the hammock.

"Of course not! Please, do!" KayKay agreed eagerly, sitting down beside him. Matt nodded and strummed the guitar once, tuned a string slightly, then began his song.

__

"Looking back on the memory of   
The dance we shared beneath the stars above   
For a moment all the world was right.  
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye?"

KayKay was taken breathless by the beauty of the music and Matt's rich voice. He carried not only the words, but also the every emotion behind them. The rain pattering on the rooftop only blended the music more beautifully. She found herself leaning forward, hanging on the melody.

  
_"And now I'm glad I didn't know   
The way it all would end, the way it all would go.   
Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain,  
But I'd have had to miss the dance.  
  
Holding you I held everything.  
For a moment wasn't I the king?   
But if I'd only known how the king would fall   
Hey who's to say? You know I might have changed it all.  
  
And now I'm glad I didn't know   
The way it all would end, the way it all would go.   
Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain,  
But I'd have had to miss the dance.  
  
And my life is better left to chance   
I could have missed the pain but I'd have had to miss the dance."_

He finished slowly, looking up from the guitar to KayKay, his eyes locking with hers. It was happening again, just like in the summer. But this time, KayKay was not afraid. Who was to say why not? Everything in the world works strangely, love being one of the most mysterious of all.

Whatever the reason the Fates had for making her do it, KayKay found herself leaning closer to Matt as he placed a hand gently on one side of her face and he laid a gentle kiss on her cheek. His wistful smile touched KayKay, and she scooted closer and embraced him warmly, melting into his frame as he held her strongly, kissing the top of her head and smiling down upon her.

And as Fate would also have it, it was right then that another someone Flooed into the living room, causing KayKay and Matt to spring away from each other, suddenly bashful, and in the process, tipping the hammock. The two teenagers tumbled to the floor of the porch along with the candle, which immediately burned out, and the platter of cookies and Pumpkin Juice KayKay had made earlier.

"That didn't sound good" KayKay heard Dumbledore's amused voice say upon hearing the pitcher shatter.

"Lumos."

KayKay blinked up at her uncle from where she was strewn, one leg tangled up in the hammock, the other one folded beneath her, and her hair soaked with Pumpkin Juice and sprinkled with shards of glass.

"Ah . . . hi Uncle Remmy. I was wondering when you'd get home." She said with a nervous smile.

"Indeed . . ." he commented dryly. If not for the smallest glint in his eye, one would think they were in trouble. "Well then, lets get you cleaned up and get some lights around here? Repairo!"

All the fragments of glass that were scattered about jumped back together and assembled themselves on the table.

"So . . . KayKay said, sitting up and dusting herself off, "When is the trial set for?"

"Tomorrow."

KayKay's hands froze mid-swipe. "Tomorrow? As in . . . _tomorrow_ tomorrow?! But we're not ready! There's no way—"

"On the contrary, KayKay" Dumbledore said, walking into the room as small bubbles of light blossomed from his wand and hovered near the ceiling. "Where there is a will, there is a way, and I have a way."

"What . . .?"

"You shall see tomorrow KayKay . . . bright and early. We nearly had to set the trial for three in the morning our time, seeing how they wanted it and six in the evening. However, this old man was able to swindle it, and we'll be in our own time zone. That being the case, we all have a good night's sleep to catch, and a limited time in which to do so. Matthew, thank you for delivering KayKay's things and keeping her some company."

"I would ask you to stay longer of you wished, but a party can wait until we amazingly win this case." Remus added, leading Matt to the fireplace and holding out the jar of Floo Powder for him.

"Thank you, Mr. Lupin. Goodnight KayKay." He added, before tossing the powder in and shouting "Escondito!" as he disappeared in a whoosh.

Few words were said afterwards . . . a thank you to Dumbledore, a goodnight to her uncle, and soon KayKay was swinging gently in her hammock, looking lazily up at the ceiling. The bubble-lights were still there, but much dimmer. It was really quite beautiful.

She turned on her side and reflected on the night and of what Matt meant to her. He was friendly for certain, and interesting as well. And cute, one couldn't forget cute. And his voice . . . a small grin came to KayKay just remembering it . . . he sang so . . . _enchantingly_. Sincere . . . humorous . . . honest . . . one _could_ call him perfect.

KayKay smiled dreamily as she slipped away and let her subconscious mind run amok.

One could call him perfect. But he wasn't.

Someone was better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello, hello, hello! Yes, it is me, the weird one who spends all of her time writing.

People are right. I have, like, NO social life.

But that's all right! So long as I have my readers (and hopefully, reviewers, *cough, cough*) I be fine. And so, I send a thank you to **IcyPrncss** and **Snivellus**! Thank you so much for reviewing!!! *giant smiles*


	9. And Nothing But the Truth

__

*~* Chapter Nine: . . . And Nothing but the Truth *~*

"This case for the custody of Kayleigh Determan shall now come order," a plump wizard said, tapping a gavel against a wooden block. KayKay, Dumbledore, Remus, Headmistress O'Connor, the evil Social Worker, and what must have been their lawyer were all in a simple room with two tables, KayKay, Dumbledore, and Remus at one, and O'Connor, the Social Worker, and the lawyer at the other. KayKay's first impression was that being in a real courtroom, like all the ones seen in movies, would be much cooler.

Then she remembered that those courtrooms were used for Federal Cases such as rape and murder, and was suddenly quite glad that this was simply a Civil Case.

Murder wasn't very high on her to-do list.

"Meredith O'Connor? I see that you have been Kayleigh's Headmistress for most of five years. Have you any other relation to her?" the judge addressed, getting right down to business.

"Your Honor, it is my every hope that each student I look after feels that they can come to me if ever—"

"Just answer the question." He prompted impatiently.

"No, Your Honor," she said, blushing a bit.

He then asked a similar question of the Social Worker.

"No Your Honor, nothing but my job connects myself to Kayleigh—"

"I object to that, Your Honor."

The movement was entirely in unison; everyone swiveled their heads to look at Matt, whom had just entered the room and was walking leisurely up the aisle.

"Forgive me for being late, I had some difficulty finding the room." Matt apologized, sliding into an open seat at KayKay's table.

"And your name is?"

"Matthew! What are you doing!?" the Social Worker asked over the judge.

"Sorry Atticus, but sides are different here." Matt said, barely even glancing at his older brother.

"Young man! What is your name?"

" 'Sides are different here'? What are you talking about? You don't even know this girl!"

"Order, order!" the judge insisted, hitting his gavel against his desk more ferociously, "Young man . . ."

"That's what you think, Atticus." Matt replied simply, looking up at the ceiling innocently. Atticus slammed his hands flat on the table, pulling himself up and toppling his chair just as easily.

"Now you listen here!" he said furiously, pointing at Matt with a finger shaking from anger. "This is not some child's game, Matthew! You may want to be a lawyer, but there are some things you cannot do, and this is one of them!"

"Is that so, Atticus?" Matt retorted, eyes flashing as he stood up.

"Mr. Siempre, _sit down!_ You too, young man!"

They didn't listen, of course. What person would is such a situation?

"Atticus, this has nothing to do with games and vocations! This has to do with my part as a witness and guardian to KayKay!" Matt yelled, staring daggers at his older brother who was doing the same to him.

"I have had enough! The guardianship of this girl is left to the Ministry to which she belongs." The judge announced, raising his gavel.

Every person on KayKay's side froze and KayKay herself practically dove across the table, exclaiming, "Your Honor, you can't!"

"I can, young lady, and I shall. I am certainly not going to leave you in the guardianship of someone not of age." He said, preparing again to knock the gavel against the block.

"Your Honor, Matt is not one who we ever considered being my guardian!" KayKay pleaded, putting her hand over the wooden block and, as a result, getting her hand hit with a gavel. She seemed not to notice at all though, and she looked up at the judge, silently begging for him to listen. Everyone was still frozen, watching the impeding scene. KayKay dared not breathe.

Slowly, the judge set the gavel aside and KayKay pulled her hand away, letting it drop to her side.

"Men, please seat yourselves. Miss Determan, I ask the same of you. Now," the judge said as the three returned to their places, "young man, you must tell me who you are before we go any further."

"I'm Matthew Siempre." KayKay kicked him from under the table and he hastily added, "Your Honor."

"Matthew Siempre . . . are you a relation of Atticus Siempre, over here?" he inquired, motioning to Atticus.

"Yes Your Honor, he is my older brother."

"And your connection with Kayleigh Determan is . . .?"

"I'm her—"

"Your honor, he is the youth mentioned in the case file, who looked out for Kayleigh during the summer months." Dumbledore said quickly. Matt and KayKay exchanged glances. Dumbledore must have had an important reason not to let the judge know that the two teens were acquaintances.

"Very well, then. Let us pick up again where we left off. Remus Lupin, you are requesting guardianship?"

"Yes, Your Honor," was the simple answer.

"I see also that you are a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he continued, looking down at a paper in his hand. "Is that correct?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"It also says here that you are a Werewolf."

"That is correct, Your Honor."

The judge set the paper down and took of his glasses, studying Remus wearily. "You do understand that your chances at winning this case are significantly lower, I hope."

Remus replied that yes, he did know that, and so began the hard part of the trial. The two sides bantered back and forth for the better part of an hour, and with each clean retort from the opposing lawyer, KayKay's hopes drooped lower and lower. Matt was right . . . he truly _was_ one of the best lawyers she'd heard. Not that she'd heard many, mind you.

And that wasn't to say that Dumbledore was bad. He was a brilliant man, and while KayKay couldn't figure out his strategy, it was clear that he had one. KayKay simply prayed that it would be enough.

When both sides had finally talked all the talk they needed, the five most agonizing minutes of recess ever began. KayKay was almost to the point of throwing up from worry when the judge cleared his throat to read his verdict.

"After much deliberation . . ." KayKay was at the edge of her seat, " . . . I have reached . . ." goodness, could he talk any slower? " . . . a verdict . . ."

She would cry if she had to live in an orphanage. She would cry if she got to live with Remus.

Tears were funny things.

As she began thinking, her eyes were already watering. Their defense was too weak . . . the judge would see no reason that living with Remus would be better for her.

"The Ministry presents rational points on why Kayleigh Determan should live in an orphanage . . ."

Oh God, they had lost. They had lost. How could they lose!? This wasn't fair, it wasn't supposed to happen this way, they weren't supposed to lose!

"However . . ."

KayKay had let her head drop to the table in defeat, but upon that one word . . . that one, beautiful word . . . her head shot back up.

" . . . It is the decision of this court that the girl Kayleigh Determan be placed in the guardianship of her uncle, Remus Lupin. Case dismissed."

The gavel came down with a loud crack, and KayKay flew from her seat, hugging Remus ecstatically as her eyes blurred with tears of joy.

"But . . . you can't . . . HE'S A WEREWOLF!" Professor O'Connor screeched at the judge in fury.

"And you," he replied, "are a very annoying woman. I bid you farewell." With this, he stood and left.

Matt tapped KayKay on the shoulder and she spun quickly, grabbing and almost strangling him in a hug. He hugged back, and when KayKay looked into his eyes, his happiness for her shone brightly.

"I'm so glad that you won the case," he told her as the four left the room. "I was worried for a while there though . . ."

"_You_ were worried? I almost threw up by the end there . . ."

They all laughed, KayKay the loudest.

"I was thinking last night," he said, quiet enough for only her to hear, "of how I said I would miss you. I still would, if that's what you're thinking, but I knew that this was where I hoped you would end up. This is where you belong. With Remus . . ." he looked sideways at her, " . . . and Harry."

"With . . . but how did you _know_?" KayKay asked in absolute shock. Matt simply waved his hand.

"That doesn't matter, what matters is that now you can be here where you belong, not over there, across the ocean, where you'll be miserable the rest of your life."

KayKay tried to speak, found she couldn't, whimpered in an inarticulate fashion, and gave Matt a hug of gratitude. 

"Come on slowpokes, it's time for that victory celebration!" Remus called to them, his eyes positively alight with happiness. Matt and KayKay quickly caught up with Dumbledore and Remus, Flooed beck to Remus's home, and took turns playing KayKay's guitar, talking, laughing, playing games, and eating the cookies KayKay baked, which she ended up needing to whip up more of.

Matt, at one point, oddly requested the use of some paper and an owl. KayKay decided not to ask, simply requesting that it not be to someone about her winning the case, she wanted it to be surprise.

Overall, a perfect day.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

__

Harry Potter,

You don't know me . . . well, perhaps you do, technically. My name is Matt Siempre, and I spoke to you last night, although it was for just a moment. You may wonder why I am writing you a letter . . . I know I'm_ wondering . . . but there are a few things that I think you need to know._

The first is that my comments last night were only jokes. KayKay and I have never been anything more than friends. No, I won't say I didn't want_ us to be more than friends . . . but KayKay would never want us to date. I haven't pressured her about it much, but just so that you know this and just so that she doesn't feel responsible, I have given her a kiss on the cheek. _

Wow, you know you're getting mature when you admit these kinds of things to people who could hate you for it.

I'm not exactly_ sure when I realized trying to have a relationship with KayKay was a lost cause . . . there were plenty of signs, I'm sure. But what made it really clear was when you spoke to her last night. Most girls I know would be really ticked off, and maybe it sounded that way when you read her comments, but if you had seen the wistful smile on her face as she wrote . . . she's pretty much stuck on you. I casually asked if you were her boyfriend and if you'd kill me for my comment. She uncomfortably said no, but her eyes were yelling, "Yeah! He is! And I can't see him! This stinks!"_

Also, please don't ask when I became so god at reading body language. Most people, if I say anything like this, kind of assume that I . . . well . . . swing that_ way, if you know what I mean. But knowing body language is very handy for lawyers, which is what I'm wishing to become . . ._

I'm also good at stalling, as you can tell already. 

But returning to the point of my letter, I wanted you to know how lucky you are. Girls like KayKay are in short supply, and it's hard to see this awesome love she has for you go to waste. So please, drop me a line when and if you two get back together. It'll let me know that the humiliation I'm going through while writing this humbling letter was for a great cause.

Matt.

Harry read the letter a second and then a third time as he walked down the hallway Tuesday evening after classes. Megan, Hermione, and Ron were deep in discussion and didn't seem to notice his pensive disposition.

So, this Matt guy was writing Harry a letter to tell him . . . what? That KayKay still loved him and he needn't fear her falling for someone else?

If that wasn't it, then what? That he hoped they'd get together again, even if it were years from now?

An odd thing for someone to say . . . especially someone who liked KayKay.

Was he bluffing? Being sarcastic? Rubbing it in Harry's face? This letter raised more questions than it answered!

Suddenly, instinctively, Harry's head snapped up and away from the letter in his hand and he stopped walking. Someone was coming out of Dumbledore's office . . . oh, it was just Remus and the Headmaster. Or _was_ it?

"It can't be . . ." 

"Harry? What's the matter, you look like you've seen a ghost." Megan commented lightly, coming up beside him. She followed his line of vision and was suddenly in as much shock as he at the sight of the girl walking away down the hall beside Remus. "No way."

"KayKay . . .?" Harry whispered in disbelief. Then he shouted, "KayKay!"

The head turned quickly, searching for who had shouted. Her eyes met Harry, and the smile on her face shone as brightly as her joyful eyes as she ran back to meet him. He started forward to meet her, and his arms caught her tightly as she met him in a flurry of laughter that transformed into shrieks of joy when he picked her up and spun her around, the letter he'd been reading falling out of his hand. As he set her back down gently, Harry wondered if he was dreaming and considered asking someone to pinch him, but that proved to be unnecessary when KayKay hastily pressed her lips to his before turning and giving Megan a warm hug.

Oh yeah. He was definitely awake.

"KayKay . . . what are you _doing_ here?" Hermione asked, joining the reception.

"Well, what other wizarding school would I go to if I lived in England? _Duh_." She said, an ecstatic grin on her face.

"You _what_?!" Megan shrieked, clutching KayKay excitedly by the forearms. 

"Does that mean you had a custody trial?" Ron asked, still seeming struck dumb at the sight of the old friend. KayKay simply nodded energetically.

"Yesterday morning. Oh!" KayKay practically rolled her eyes in awe, "Dumbledore is brilliant! Our chances were like this," she held up her thumb and forefinger with a tiny gap between them, "but BAM! Something he said must have convinced that judge. Ooh, the look on O'Connor's face . . ."

Megan grinned. "O'Connor was mad?"

"Furious! I snuck out _right_ under her nose. I made a game of annoying her at meetings with my Social Worker, so she all too gladly made me wait in the hall. Idiot. Like I _wouldn't_ run away!" KayKay said wickedly. Then, looking around at the group, she asked, "Why are we all standing here? I'm starving, come on, let's go get dinner!"

She tugged at Harry's arm and got the caravan of friends moving. Ron and Hermione exchanged surprised glances at KayKay's enthusiasm, and walked along quickly.

KayKay's foot brushed against something on the floor, and she bent down to pick it up.

"Harry, you dropped . . . hang on . . ." she scanned he letter, eyes widening as she took it in. Motioning to it, she asked Harry, "He . . .?" 

"Yes."

"Are you . . .?" KayKay feared he would be mad at her.

"No"

"Did you know. . .?" 

"No. Did you?"

"I didn't think I did. But now . . ." KayKay finally realized how she'd still felt.

"Of course . . ."

"Did you . . .?" 

"No." Harry answered without hesitation. He could never date someone else so soon.

"So you haven't . . .?" 

"Never. Did you?" Oh, what if she _had_ moved on? What if she was nearly over him, or worse, if she'd realize that what she'd wished for wasn't as she remembered?

Smiling widely, KayKay wrapped her arms behind his neck in a hug, she answered, "Never."

These two young souls had understood every word said . . . and those words that weren't. That was more than could be said for others.

"Did either of you follow that?" Megan whispered to Ron and Hermione.

"I have no idea what they're talking about." Hermione said under her breath.

"Ugh" Megan said, holding a hand to her head.

"I agree, they're making me sick too" Ron nodded, stopping as soon as Harry and KayKay looked at him.

"No, it's not that, I just have a really bad headache all of a sudden." Megan said with a wince, rubbing her temples.

"It's probably from all the excitement," KayKay said sympathetically. 

"Megan, why don't you just go lie down or something? Quidditch practice won't do any good if you're fighting a migraine," Ron said, clapping her on the shoulder and turning her back down the hall towards Gryffindor Tower.

"Yeah . . . thanks Ron." Megan said distractedly.

"That stinks . . . so Quidditch practice, huh? Mind if I go down and watch?" KayKay said, turning her attention back to the rest of the group as they continued to the Great Hall.

"Not a bit! Uh, that is, if Ron doesn't mind. It is his decision." Harry added hastily, looking at his friend.

"Why would I mind? She's still a Gryffindor, isn't she? That's good enough for me!"

"Well, look at what the cat dragged in." cruel voice sneered.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

" . . . I see then that they'll let anyone in here. Even a filthy, preppy, mudblood like you." Madison continued loftily.

KayKay threw her arm out to the side and caught Harry by the chest to stop him. He'd been starting forward, and if looks could kill . . . Madison would be Mongolian Barbecue. Harry threw a look at KayKay, but upon seeing her undaunted expression he softened and resorted to clenching his fists.

"Hello Jacobs. I would say it was nice to see you again, but I learned long ago not to waste my courtesy on you." KayKay said coolly. "Enjoyed the rest of Boot Camp, did you?"

"Oh of course, but I was very disappointed that I didn't get my chance to bump you off of that cliff. Most of us were. We'd have been doing the world such a favor. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to settle for the more mediocre form of a fight, muggle style, since I'm sure that's all you'd know how to do, if anything. Unless, of course, you're chicken." Madison said, gaining ferocity, and taking her bookbag off of her shoulder and dropping it to the ground, stepping back in a defensive stance. 

KayKay looked at the bag, and then at Madison with an air of superiority. She glanced at Harry and wasn't surprised to see him ready to pounce and separate the two if anything happened. She _was_ surprised to see Ron looking much the same, however.

"What, can't you take it, Determan? Come on you pansy, you owe me and the rest of the world a chance to get rid of you."

KayKay, composure never once lost, stepped over to Madison and grabbed the front of her robes in a fist.

"I owe you nothing." She hissed. "Now start acting your age. It's only a coward that tries to settle things in a fight."

Her bit said, KayKay shoved Madison away and turned, continuing her way down the hall like this altercation had never taken place.

"Someday, Determan!" Madison shouted after her. "Someday you'll end up like the rest of your pathetic, muggle family! I just hope I'm around to see it!"

"Don't worry about it." KayKay said to Harry, who still had enough anger on his face for the both of them. "Not to use a cliché, but she's all bark and no bite. I just embarrassed her dignity back there by being a bigger person. Sure, I wanted to knock a few of her teeth out, but . . ."

She looked at him and grinned wickedly, "I'll wait until it's not my first day back to do that."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

At practice, Harry normally felt lighter and unburdened compared to his normal worries that were always present on the ground, but today, he didn't need to be on a broom for his heart to soar. He felt so much more cheery, just looking over at KayKay in the stands and realizing that he wasn't asleep.

"Okay, that's it for tonight guys! Just a few more practices like this, and Ravenclaw won't stand a chance!" Ron called out to his teammates. Chattering lightly as they dismounted their brooms, the Gryffindor Team headed into the locker room to change. The sun was almost set, and Harry was just going to do a few more laps before it was dark . . .

"Hey, Harry!" KayKay called up to him, "Why don't you come down?"

Harry looked at her standing there below him on the Pitch and replied, "Why don't you come up?"

So saying, he dove sharply and leveled out close to the ground, heading towards KayKay at a slightly reduced speed.

"No . . . Harry . . . don't . . . Harry!"

KayKay emitted a small "Eep!" and buried her face in Harry's robes as he pulled her onto the broom and took off again, laughing wildly.

Harry, really, I have this . . . _phobia_ of flying!" KayKay exclaimed, holding him so tightly that it was a surprise he could breathe.

Harry smiled down at her. "Now why would that be? You've climbed trees higher than this."

KayKay peeked down at the ground, and even though they were only six feet up, she hid her face again.

"I don't care, it's different!" she said in a muffled voice. "Trees don't fly."

"Then don't look down" Harry said, nudging her gently. "Look up at the sky."

The sun was now set, and the sky was streaked with clouds and colors fairer than those of any painter's brush. For early November it was unseasonably warm, and a light breeze made the trees sway gently. KayKay looked around slowly, then sat up a bit straighter, loosening her death grip on Harry, who immediately relaxed, having a normal oxygen intake reinstated.

"See? I'll make you a flyer yet." Harry joked, coming to rest lightly in the Astronomy Tower.

KayKay nodded, looking pensive, and with a sigh she sat down on the ledge and hugged her knees to her chest.

"Is something wrong?" Harry inquired, settling down next to her with his legs dangling over the edge.

"It's nothing." KayKay said dismissively, looking up at the sky. "Really." She assured when Harry opened his mouth to further press the subject. The pair thus sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the sky as it slowly changed from a pink and lavender to violet, and then a deep blue with a sprinkling of stars. KayKay shifted her position to one not unlike Harry's. Her hand was resting a few inches from his, and he considered taking it in his own. It was normally a gesture he wouldn't second-guess, but after not seeing her for months, after the changes that may have happened, did he dare?

He decided he did. KayKay's looked down quickly in surprise, but didn't comment on this change of situation. 

Harry took this as a good sign.

"KayKay," he said softly, "Do you know what day it is?"

"Ummm . . . Tuesday?" she answered uncomfortably.

"No. Well yes, it is, but it's also something else. It was one year ago today that we met each—"

"Oh, Harry!" KayKay exclaimed in despair, standing up. "What are we doing?"

Now Harry was the one who answered uncomfortably, "Uh . . . sitting in the Astronomy Tower?"

"No, no, no!" she shouted, putting a hand on her forehead in exasperation. "I mean, what are we trying to do here?" she began pacing, looking up at the sky as if saying, "Why me?"

"Harry, I'm only here because I got lucky and didn't wind up in an orphanage when Joe and Sue died! Voldemort won't give up on trying to get me, and what if Remus died? I'd be back to facing cows and cornfields, and . . . and . . . Amish stores!"

"Amish . . . stores . . .?"

"Harry, we talked about Forever last year, but Summer came, I left, we drifted different ways. Harry . . ." she whirled around and faced him straight, "What if Forever never comes? Sure, we can hope to run into each other once we're of age and all, but how likely is it? A crossing of paths at something like the Quidditch World Cup and a double take as we think, 'Hey, was that Harry?' would be the _most_ likely scenario!"

"KayKay . . ."

"Harry . . ." her voice broke, and she tried again, "Harry, we can't . . . we shouldn't . . . what if something happens? I can't lose you again, I just can't!"

Harry crossed to her quickly and placed his hands on her shoulders, watching her glistening eyes with sadness.

"I . . . I just can't . . ." KayKay tried and faltered, letting her head fall against Harry's chest. He shook her shoulders gently.

"Look KayKay," he said, "look up at the sky. Do you see _all_ those stars?"

Sniffling, KayKay looked up, the many sprinkles of light refracted in her eyes. "Yeah?"

He cradled her chin gently and brought it down so she'd look him in the eyes. "KayKay? I _promise_ you . . . I swear by every star in the sky . . . that Forever _will_ come. Even if I need to search the whole world after we've gone different ways. I _won't_ lose you. Not now. Not ever" he told her affirmatively.

The look of pure love and gratitude she gave him made his heart soar just as much as the sensation of her hand sliding into his and the gentle kiss she set on his lips.

"I take thee at thy word," she quoted Shakespeare. "And," she added, "I promise the same to you."

Giving him another quick kiss, she turned and left, pausing with her hand on the doorknob.

"And by the way . . ." she smiled, "Happy Anniversary. It was one year ago today that I fell for you."

She shut the door softly behind her, and Harry could hear her staccato footsteps traveling down the stairway. When they had faded to nothing, Harry tightened the hand that was still warm from hers, and it was then that he noticed it.

A piece of folded parchment was in his hand. KayKay must have given it to him when she held is hand, and he hadn't even noticed. Unfolding it, he recognized it immediately as the letter he had first written to KayKay, while she was still at Escondito. He wondered what it was for when he noticed the change. At the bottom, it still said, _"What about the day you flew beck to America? What does that count for?"_, but now, there was an answer scrawled underneath in KayKay's handwriting.

__

Nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi there again. Well, school is underway as is homework, play practice, dance, and Youth Group. I'm still trying to barrel through this story while not botching it up, my goal is to finish by Christmas *cough* yeah right *cough*.

And so, thanks for the review, **Bacardibob. **I'm sorry that I don't particularly remember you *sheepish blush* but were you on a different screen name? Maybe? *grins hopefully so she doesn't seem like a total dolt*


	10. Serpents and Suspects

__

*~* Chapter Ten: Serpents and Suspects *~*

"Somebody? Anybody! You!" a First Year said, grabbing KayKay by the wrist, "You're a Sixth Year, right? Gryffindor? Right? Who cares, follow me!"

KayKay was mentally yanked away from dreamy thoughts and physically yanked down a hallway by a girl with raven hair and violet eyes.

"Ummm . . . may I ask what you're doing ah . . . Miss . . . ah . . ."

"Jaymi" the girl answered, not turning around. "And it's just . . . I saw . . . oh nevermind, you just have to see!"

"See what?" KayKay asked the uncommonly assertive First Year.

"I . . . it's bad." She answered awkwardly.

The girl stumbled to a halt near the intersection of two corridors and pointed for KayKay to see.

"I was coming from the library." She said a bit uncertainly. "I was coming . . . and then I saw them . . ."

KayKay walked slowly into the clearing, looking in shock at the sprawled forms on the floor.

"I . . . I'm not sure if they're alive." 

Jaymi began to babble. "I just saw them right there, and I didn't hear anything before so I'm not sure if . . . And I couldn't find anyone anywhere, you're the first person I found, by the way, what's your name?"

"Ah . . . KayKay," she answered distractedly, while desperately trying to get a thought out to Cocoa.

Cocoa? Cocoa, where are you, I need to talk to you right away! Now! Cocoa, I'm serious, you have to—

"You called?" Cocoa asked, popping up by KayKay's feet.

"Yes. Now. Cocoa." She squatted down near the Caranax, "You have to get Dumbledore, straight away. Tell him we need him immediately in the East wing of the second floor, near the tapestry of Merlin the Third. Can you do that?"

"Of course. I, after all, am no—"

"Just GO!"

"Gone, baby," Cocoa said with a pop. KayKay sighed, and then stood back up, giving Jaymi a reassuring smile before turning and looking closer at the bodies.

"Do you know who they are?" she asked as she looked down at the face of a Chinese boy.

"The girl's name is Lynn Rolands, she's in lots of my classes, and I _think_ the boy's name is Kitsune Nomiko . . ."

KayKay looked briefly at the girl, then did a double-take. From the angle she was at, she could see something on her right temple. She stepped over the boy and knelt down by his side, turning his head gently so she could see his temple, and she almost dropped his head back as her stomach clenched. Tattooed there were snakes, twisted to form the word "ONE'S"

Shooting to her feet, KayKay looked around quickly, having the oddest of sensations that she was being watched. Shivering despite herself, KayKay tried to stop her qualms as she looked at the girl's face where there was also a tattoo of serpents spelling "I'M"

"Whoever did this is sick," she muttered, stepping back unconsciously, "really, really sick."

"What is wrong, KayKay? I heard you needed me."

KayKay turned with relief to Dumbledore, who was coming quickly with Cocoa at his heels.

"Professor, we . . . they . . ." she gestured helplessly at the victims.

Dumbledore's mien turned, if possible, even more serious, and he ordered, "Miss Krysallis, please get Madame Pomfrey _now_."

The girl turned to obey, but KayKay stopped her, saying, "I'll go. You'll need to tell Dumbledore what you know. Besides, I can get there faster."

Without giving Jaymi time to argue, she slipped behind a tapestry and quickly headed off to the Hospital Wing by way of secret shortcut.

* * * * *

"This is worse than when we were Second Years," Hermione shuddered after KayKay had finished telling companions what had taken place after she'd left the Astronomy tower. 

"But the case is so similar . . . people were attacked by someone or something else in this school, and an ominous message was left."

"Except," Ron said, " 'One's I'm' or 'I'm one's' doesn't tell us much. Do you think that maybe Voldemort was hiding another monster down in the Chamber of Secrets?"

"I'd like to see Voldemort _try_ to get close enough to this school to do that." KayKay froze for a moment then and began waving her hands in front of her as if warding someone away, "No, I take that back!"

Hermione shook her head slowly. "I'm not so sure. Didn't Madame Pomfrey say that it appeared to be a spell or curse?"

"She . . . did say that, yes." KayKay nodded. "Which is just great. That means that there's another spell to kill people out there." She slumped.

Ron nodded slowly, "And obviously, an animal can't do—" he stopped, then jumped up.

"Animal!" he exclaimed in a whisper, "Hermione, the potion!"

"Oh!" she said in sudden realization. "You're right! We need to do that _tonight_!"

She hurried up the stairs to her dormitory, and KayKay looked at the boys quizzically.

" 'Potion' . . .?"

"An Animagus Potion," Harry explained in a hushed voice. "We've been working on it for more than a month now."

"Harry, that's illegal, you know that." KayKay jokingly admonished with a fiendish grin.

"So? We'll register when we're of age . . . probably . . . maybe . . . not." He grinned.

"Here, come up to the Girl's Dormitory, we don't want other people noticing." Hermione said.

"Yes, because nobody will notice us then . . ." Ron said sarcastically.

"We could get the Invisibility Cloak . . ." Harry started.

"Don't bother Harry, I have an idea," KayKay said. Then, loudly she screeched, "There's a stray _rat_ loose in _our_ dormitory?! Oh, someone get rid of it, quick! Harry, Ron, _do_ something!

Harry and Ron, smiling at KayKay's quick thinking, stood up and went quickly to the dormitory.

"Well?" Hermione asked when KayKay stayed at the table, "What are you waiting for? There's enough for all of us!"

Hermione tugged at KayKay's arm and the two girls ran, laughing despite the impending danger presented that evening, up the stairs to join their friends. 

* * * * *

"Well?" Hermione asked as they all studied their enchanted parchments. Something close to an hour had passed, and after dividing the potion equally, adding some of their blood, and dripping some onto their papers, they were looking quizzically from the patterns to the book and back.

"Well, from what I gather, I'm a fox," Ron said, placing his paper down for the rest of the group to see. "Red must really suit me, because I won't escape it even as an Animagus"

"Really, will it have magenta, violet and green too?" Hermione replied, setting down her own paper. "Okay, so I'm an owl, I see. Probably a barn owl though, not a snowy owl, judging by the colors here," she traced part of the paper with a fingernail.

"Not surprising," Harry said, "Wise girl, wise owl. I'm a timber wolf."

"Brave, loyal, and strong," Megan commented from her place sprawled on the bed, "I appear to be a fluffy pink bunny. Okay, okay, actually," she said after everyone had stopped laughing, "I'm a black cat."

"Ah, we need to avoid Megan now. Bad luck, bad luck!" KayKay laughed. "Okay," she continued, changing her position on the floor a bit, "I can't figure out what this means for the life of me. Hermione, you wise owl, will you please pretty please help me?" she requested, giving Hermione a gaze akin to Bambi.

"Okay, okay, pass it here." She said. KayKay handed her the paper ecstatically and sat back awaiting the verdict. They all looked on as Hermione's expression turned to one of confusion, calculation, and then of satisfaction as she apparently found what she was looking for.

"You, my friend, are a black wolf." She said, handing the paper back.

"A black wolf?" KayKay repeated blankly. "I didn't know there was such a thing."

"Jet-black with bright blue eyes, I'd assume by your paper. And there is such a thing, but they're strictly magical. The animals themselves normally have some sort of . . . um . . . posthumous powers, if not for themselves then regarding others. That's the way most black animals are. _Rare_ black animals," she added upon seeing Megan open her mouth to say something, "not anything like cats, rats, ravens, grims or the like."

"Well, wolves run together, huh?" Harry asked her with a grin, giving her a high-five. KayKay replied by tilting her head back and howling.

"Uh, not that I'm trying to disturb your . . . ummm . . . animal instincts, but what are _they_ doing in here?"

KayKay opened her eyes and got an upside-down view of Lavender standing in the doorway. She quickly put her head down again and turned around, getting a normal glimpse of her fellow Gryffindor.

"Calm down, they're just visiting," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "Bye guys."

"Yep, see you tomorrow!" KayKay added, inconspicuously nudging all the leftover Animagus items under Megan's bed with her foot so no one else would see them.

"Bye Hermione, Megan." Harry nodded, standing up, "Bye KayKay." He said a bit more softly with a gentle touch on her shoulder that expressed more than a sappy goodnight could. "Sweet dreams."

He followed Ron out of the room and downstairs. Remembering that, despite feeling in all aspects like a Friday, it was still only Tuesday, the girls went to sleep. The next day yielded black tapestries in the Great Hall instead of the Hogwarts coat of arms, painfully reminding the posse of friends that there again was danger lurking about the school, giving them reason to be on their toes. Friday they began to undertake the difficult task of becoming Animagi and Saturday heralded Gryffindor's Quidditch Match against Ravenclaw.

They won, of course.

And so, a week passed without incident, and then two. But the calm that had settled over the group was disrupted, as a calm pond is disrupted when penetrated by a stone, one day when KayKay was in Divination.

* * * * *

It was beyond KayKay why she still took the class. She'd only passed the OWLS for it because she was a good guesser. So for now, she was stuck with the nutcase Trelawney. Well, at least Megan was there.

Many dull details of the varying degrees of torture endured by KayKay in this class could be related, but that would simply be a waste of time, considering that since Harry had left KayKay was the target of all of Trelawney's prophecies.

It would be both unnecessary and superfluous to relate how KayKay dozed off during one of the Professor's tedious lectures; the point is that on this occasion she was caught.

"Miss Determan, I can sense that you are troubled with the unfortunate events a few weeks ago." She said to KayKay after class, "I See that it has troubled your sleep, and that under the clairvoyant calm of this classroom you've been able to get the rest you seek. But I do believe that this is not the place for you to take your respite, and in my mind's eye I can See that you would succeed so much more as a Seer were you not missing these vital lessons. May I then, suggest, that we get Madame Pomfrey for a conference?"

"No, thank you." KayKay said, not bothering to clarify that she was sleeping quite fine indeed and that it was simply the class that put her to sleep.

"Are you certain? Poor girl, after the trauma of the Summer and events that occurred shortly after you thought yourself in a safe place . . . I can See the effect it's had on you . . ."

"I'm fine, thank you." KayKay repeated, becoming slightly annoyed at her persistence.

"Your mind is troubled my dear, I would greatly appreciate if you'd let me help—"

"_I'm fine!_" KayKay exclaimed, standing up. "Now I'd like to stop being interrogated, thank you very much!"

Professor Trelawney appeared taken aback indeed, but her shocked mien melted away and her face suddenly appeared blank as her body stiffened in the upholstered chair behind her desk. Her eyes, magnified tenfold by her glasses, rolled back, and the woman's arms shot out, reflexively grabbing KayKay's wrist and pulling her closer.

KayKay was uncomfortably frightened by this point, and she tried to pull her arm away. But the grip Professor Trelawney had on her tightened, and she began to speak.

__

"The time draws near. The Heir of he, the Dark Lord, the Master, is no longer dormant. No, not even the Heir knew their destiny, but it has already begun. Indeed, in these times the danger is greater than ever before. The Heir shall not die, no matter what attempts are made.

"In these times, more than ever before, the wolves of the pack must run together. They must help one another through the mountains and valleys, the obstacles and impediments that block their way and the way of the wizarding world. Only through each other will they succeed, and only through they shall our world succeed. Should one fall, the battle shall be lost and not regained."

KayKay's blanched and the room felt like it was beginning to spin. Wolves . . .

__

"Indeed, on the very day that they pledge love eternal, the wolves of the pack shall face the Dark Lord again in a battle of dark against light. On this fateful evening, the wolf with the Knowledge will fall . . ."

The room seemed to spin faster and KayKay felt her legs start to shake. The Knowledge . . .

__

" . . . Will fall and succumb to the eternal sleep. The world depends on the pack. The Heir has come. The world depends . . . the wolves . . . the one with the Knowledge . . ."

The Professor's head fell forward and just as quickly snapped back up.

"I'm sorry, what was that? Dear, I must insist, you are not well!" the teacher exclaimed upon hearing KayKay's quick and ragged breaths. Seeing KayKay's knees buckle Trelawney jumped up, only a few moments too late to catch her as she crumpled to the floor in a faint.

* * * * *

"Ugh . . . my head . . ." KayKay sat up with a hand on her forehead as she looked around groggily.

"Oh no," she groaned falling back to the pillow. "Not again."

"Yes again." Madame Pomfrey said, walking to KayKay's bedside and pouring the contents of a flask into a cup. "I'm amazed you weren't here the first day back. At any rate, you'll need to drink this, and perhaps rest for the duration of the day. A good thing you don't have classes Friday afternoons."

Friday! Animagus conditioning! She _couldn't_ stay here!

Like she'd wanted to anyhow.

"No Madame Pomfrey, I'm fine, really. That Divination room is just really . . . hot. And all the incense doesn't help either . . . I'll just go now."

She stood up, but Madame Pomfrey stopped her and made her sit down again.

"Drink this." She said sternly, handing her the cup. "Be it from the heat or not, you need a potion after fainting."

"I prefer the term 'passing out'. Fainting makes me seem like such a pansy." KayKay said dryly, taking it nonetheless.

"Just drink it."

Wincing, KayKay lifted the cup to her lips and drained it quickly. The taste was good . . . rather fruity, in fact . . . but it was slimy going down, and it made her want to drink a large quantity of water afterwards.

Still, it made her head stop ringing, and she was able to stand without becoming dizzy.

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey." KayKay said, "I can go now, right?"

"Yes, but don't run or over-exert yourself—"

Too late. KayKay had already dashed from the Hospital Wing and was halfway up the stairs.

"Sorry I'm late!" she said, dropping her bag as she skidded to a halt just inside a hidden passageway they'd chosen as their spot for working on the Animagus project.

"Where were you?" Megan asked.

"Oh, I had to go to the Library," KayKay lied quickly, feeling the need to keep Professor Trelawney's prophecy secret. She didn't know why . . . if her guess was right, it concerned Harry as well . . . but she didn't feel like it was something she should have worried Harry with.

"Okay then," Hermione said, getting right down to business, "does everyone have their animal hair?"

"I got this off of Dawn Megowyn's cat," Megan said, holding up a vial with a black cat hair inside. "I'm sure it'll do."

"I nicked this from your Potions Supplies, Hermione," Ron grinned, holding up a similar glass tube containing a red hair.

"Same here. Except from my supplies." Harry added.

"Ummm . . . since I really _don't_ have access to a black wolf, will a black hair from a regular wolf work?" KayKay asked, holding up hers with a wary face.

"Let me see . . ." Hermione flipped through the book quickly, "Yeah, that's fine. And Hedwig very kindly allowed me to have a feather of her own, so we're ready to go."

"All right then. Now what?" Harry asked, looking around.

I reply, Hermione pulled a hair from her own head and began to wind it around the feather.

"Hey wait, you said nothing about yanking out our _own_ hair!" Ron protested.

"Well Ron, if you prefer to mix some fox blood with a flask of your own, you're very welcome to do so," KayKay said, sticking her tongue out in concentration as she twisted the piece of fur and her hair together.

Ron very wisely decided to stick to hair.

"All right then. Now what?" Harry repeated once they'd all finished.

"Now," Megan picked up, "we fuse them together. Like so . . ." she pulled out her wand and cleared her throat.

__

"Inuctum bestiac veneficus!"

She gently touched the very tip of her wand to the hairs and they glowed white as they merged into one.

"Rock!" KayKay exclaimed. Everyone stared at her oddly.

"Sorry, that's a new sort of saying I've picked up . . . uh . . . okay, my turn! _Inuctum bestiac veneficus!"_

"Here," Hermione said after everyone had repeated the ritual, "you all need to put the hairs back into the vials and add a bit of this to them."

She passed around a flask of clear liquid, which everyone added to their small vials before closing them and shaking them.

"Hermione? I know that this is how it's always worked, but . . ." KayKay checked the cover of her vial again to make certain it was tight, "isn't this a lot of odd little steps to become an animal?"

"I agree," Hermione said. "But it's much better than killing ourselves by doing it the wrong way."

"True." KayKay had to nod. "Has it been long enough yet? Harry?"

"Let me see . . . yes." He answered checking his watch. They all followed Hermione as she took her hair from the small glass tube and corked it again.

__

"Phasmatis!" she ordered, pointing her wand at it. It turned a nearly clear hue and seemed almost to be throbbing slightly. Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again and slowly sliding the hair through her skin of her arm. She inserted it from the wrist towards the elbow in a manner similar to one that would be used when getting an injection. She was biting her bottom lip, and once it was finally in and her arm stopped glowing, she exhaled loudly and looked thoroughly relieved.

KayKay swallowed in an involuntary show of nervousness and bravely volunteered, "I'll go next. _Phasmatis!_"

It was horrible. It made a nauseated churning start in her stomach and bile rose to the back of her throat. The few seconds that it took seemed to last forever, and KayKay had to bite her lip like Hermione to keep from crying out. She shut her eyes tightly and put it in the rest of the way quickly. When it ended, the room was spinning again and her breath was shaky.

"KayKay? Or you all right?" Harry asked softly, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," KayKay insisted unconvincingly, waving him away. "I will be."

The boys must have been made of tougher stuff, because they only winced a bit at the sick sensation that swept their bodies when they slid their hairs in. Megan had a reaction similar the KayKay and Hermione's, except she drew blood when she bit her lip.

"So, is that it? Are we Animagi yet?" Ron asked after they'd sat in silent reflection for a few minutes.

Hermione took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Nearly. We can start transforming after we drink a sip of this . . . a sip only!" she stressed, holding up the potion still left in her glass tube. "We can try to change then . . . I haven't a clue how, James and Sirius just wrote that it was like concentrating and slipping into the other instinct . . . but if we have any mistakes, we need this to fix it."

"Well, can we just make extras?" KayKay asked, preferring to err on the side of too careful.

"But we've already fused our DNA and put it into our blood."

"Yeah, but can't we use a duplicator charm?"

"Maybe. We can try, at any rate. _Duplicio!_"

Ron was the one to try changing first. His tail was quite nice . . . or would have been, had the rest of him changed along with it. Megan faired slightly better . . . at least her mistake was less discernable. Green eyes didn't become her, however.

Harry and KayKay both succeeded in growing wolf ears, and KayKay's hair went black, but besides that, they didn't get far either.

Hermione did the best . . . well, not so much the best as she got closest to becoming an Animagus. Instead of arms, she had two long, feathery wings.

Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and they were able to fix it without trouble.

That wasn't to say that they enjoyed it.

"Ugh! This potion tastes like tuna!" Megan exclaimed in absolute disgust.

"Not mine, mine tastes like chicken or something," Ron said.

"Mine's like venison," KayKay and Harry said simultaneously.

"A little help?" Hermione cried despairingly, trying to juggle her vial of potion with her wings.

"Oh, here!" Ron took it quickly and opened it. Hermione's wings brushed him lightly as she took a sip from it and near immediately, her arms returned to normal.

"Oh thank goodness!" She said, rolling her shoulders a bit and bending her arms a few times. "Double-jointed arms . . . well, wings . . . will take a bit of getting used to."

"Yeah, well, that's enough for me for one day!" Megan said, getting up and grabbing her things.

"I agree, I don't really want more birdseed-flavored antidote today." Hermione said, gathering the books and the journal.

"I could have been worse Hermione," KayKay said, Harry nodding in agreement. They looked at each other.

"I mean, imagine if it tasted like a rat."

* * * * *

Life continued, routine and normal for another week and a half. It was a Tuesday, and light snowflakes were to be seen falling outside of the cozy Common Room. A fire crackled merrily, and everyone chattered lightly. Harry and Ron were to be found in a corner playing Wizards Chess. Harry's face was screwed up in concentration, his hand rubbing over his chin as if he had a beard there, and his eyebrows were furrowed as he searched for means of escape for the black knight ready to spring attack on his bishop. Ron was laid back in his chair and he sported a confident and vaguely triumphant ghost of a smile.

Hermione and Megan sat at a different table, scribbling away at Arithmacy homework. Hermione's quill strokes came quick and smoothly, giving the sense that she was at her leisure and needn't even open a book to know the answers. Megan's quill strokes were fast, scratchy, and interspersed with silence as she'd look up a fact in a book. The staccato swipes seemed to be shouting, "I'm on a mission!"

At the table that'd been normally occupied by the Weasley twins sat a group of Third Years playing Exploding Snap, and at another table some other students were trying out some of Fred and George's professional pranks.

All these blended into a typical day with typical sounds and typical activities. KayKay sat on the long couch with her back against the armrest and her legs sprawled out along the cushions, leisurely reading a book. It was her hope that reading about wolves would assist her in controlling Animagus transformations. Another week had passed with little progress, and the gang was starting to feel discouraged.

So nice was the evening and so engrossed was KayKay that she didn't notice a young First Year she was only somewhat acquainted with sit down on the other end of the couch Indian-style and stare at her intently. She did, however, feel the girl's gaze, and when she raised her eyes over the top of her book to look at her, the girl scrambled closer as if the eye-contact was an embossed invitation to start talking.

"Hi, I'm Sabrina! You're KayKay, aren't you?" It was more a statement than a question, and Sabrina seemed to almost trip over the words in her rush to say them.

"M-hmmm" KayKay replied lazily, listening with only one ear as she continued reading her book.

"Isn't Harry Potter your boyfriend?"

"M-hmmm."

"Wow! I wish I had a boyfriend. My older sister says I'm crazy for wanting one so young, but there you go! Wow! I hope that when I _do_] get a boyfriend he's really cute. Aaron Michael is pretty cute, but he's in Hufflepuff."

"M-hmmm"

"You think Harry's cute, don't you? Boy, I sure think he's cute. He's really cute. You're lucky. Do you think he's cute?"

"M-hmmm" KayKay turned a page and kept reading.

"Boy, if I had a boyfriend that cute, I'd _never_ be sad. You're not sad, are you? You're real happy, aren't you?"

"M-hmmm"

"I know I'd be," Sabrina continued her chatter as KayKay continued her not listening. "Do you think you'll end up marrying him?"

"M-hmmm"

"Wow! That is _so_ romantic! Are you gonna have a lot of kids? Like, thirteen or fourteen or something?"

"M-hmmm—" what Sabrina Dawson had been rambling on about finally penetrated through the sound barrier KayKay had mentally put up. "HEY!"

The young girl jumped up with a yelp as KayKay lunged across the couch at her, tossing the book over her shoulder carelessly.

"I knew it . . . I knew it!" Sabrina whooped, "Oy! Jaymi! You owe me a galleon!" she shouted at her raven-haired friend, who scowled back.

"She does NOT, because I'M not going to have fourteen kids! If my future husband is lucky, he might get _one!_" KayKay chased Sabrina around the couch, playing the all-too-common "She goes left, then so do I, we'll-always-be-on-opposite-sides" game. They'd now attracted everyone's attention, including that of Harry, who failed to notice the jeopardy he was putting his rook into.

KayKay finally got exasperated and grabbed a pillow from the couch, throwing it at Sabrina. Aided by the distraction, KayKay caught Sabrina in a headlock. Oh no, she wasn't doing it _hard_ . . . Sabrina wasn't very strong, so it didn't take any great amount of effort to hold her.

However, Sabrina _was_ small, and she slipped out of KayKay's grip, darting around a table. KayKay cursed herself and grabbed a pillow before chasing her newfound adversary, who sought safety by running behind Harry and Ron's game table, (which was abandoned in any case, since Ron had ended it cleanly as Harry's attention was divided.)

"Oy Harry, you're gonna sure have your hands full some day!" Sabrina said gleefully, while not taking her eyes off of KayKay, who was advancing like a panther upon prey. "My mum goes crazy with just three of us. Imagine thirteen!"

"Thirteen?" Harry echoed, thoroughly confused as he looked from one girl to the other. "What—"

KayKay lunged across the game table, upsetting all of Ron's black pieces and setting the board askew as she caught Sabrina by the collar before she could make a quick escape.

Unable to walk around the table and still keep a hold of Sabrina, KayKay crawled over it.

"Ummm . . . KayKay?" Harry asked oddly, "your foot is pretty near attacking my robes."

"Sorry Harry," she said, sliding off the table on the other side and letting her muddy tennis shoes "attack" something else.

Seeing she was beaten, Sabrina blurted out quickly, "Boy Harry, KayKay will make a lovely bride when the two of you get married, huh? She said she wanted to marry you when she got older and have thirteen ch—chhhkkk!" Sabrina gagged a bit as KayKay, more than a little red in the face, yanked on her collar and pulled her away from the table as fast as she could. Sabrina struggled to keep up as KayKay pulled her up the staircase to the Girl's Dormitory. Once they'd gotten around the first curve, KayKay let go of Sabrina's robes and pushed her a bit so she'd sit down on the steps.

"Now, you may think that was funny," KayKay growled, "but I didn't, and I'm sure Harry didn't either—"

"Then why did he have that grin on his face?"

"I'll ask the questions! And what grin?"

"The one that was kinda like this." Sabrina swayed back and forth a bit and plastered a dreamy expression onto her face.

"He wasn't smiling like that—Harry doesn't know _how_ to smile like that!" KayKay protested, feeling a blush rise in her cheeks again. "But the point is that now, if the wrong people heard that, or the wrong people _hear_ people talking about it, stories will start to go around the school, and I'm sure you know what kind of stories I mean," KayKay said pointedly. "The kind you don't want people to talk about."

"Oh . . . you mean like ones about your bad grades? Like that?"

"NO! You know . . . about guys . . . and girls . . . and . . ."

"I know, I know, I'm kidding—"

Sabrina's chuckles were cut off as KayKay shoved her own face close to Sabrina's. "Don't—ever—do it—again." She warned, before turning on her heel and marching back down to the Common Room.

"Jaymi," KayKay whispered, "what were the exact terms of your bet with Sabrina?"

"That . . . that you would say you wanted to marry Harry Potter and have a lot of kids." She frowned, "And I lost. Now I have to give her a Galleon."

"No, not necessarily, "KayKay said slowly. " I never said it. I just said 'M-hmmm'. I didn't actually _say_ it."

She grinned wickedly and winked a Jaymi before wandering away towards the couch where she flopped down next to Harry.

Harry shifted and sat up a bit straighter, draping an arm over KayKay's shoulders and nudging her so that she would look up at him.

"So, care to share what _that_ was all about?" Harry asked with his signature crooked grin that always lifted her spirits and melted her heart.

"Oh, just a little pest control problem, but I got it taken care of," she smiled, looking down at her hands twisting in her lap.

"A prophetic pest, or a storytelling pest?" Harry pressed, genuinely interested. KayKay could hear this in his voice and she looked up into his eyes quite quickly.

"I . . . don't know. I mean, we wouldn't, would we? Whether she was prophetic or not? We wouldn't know yet." KayKay stammered, searching his eyes for a familiar emotion. She could read his eyes easily in most cases, but what they held now was new and unfamiliar.

"Well . . . do you hope she is?" Harry asked hesitantly. Now his eyes changed again. They were curious, with a dash of hope, a sprinkle of love, a pinch of apprehension, and still that one she couldn't place.

KayKay thought briefly, knowing that she had to answer, and she did so.

"I—"

"Attention students! Attention! I have," McGonagall paused, "some bad news."

Harry, the interrupted KayKay, and the rest of the Gryffindor populace looked at their head of house with confusion. 

"There has been another attack upon a student, just within the past hour." She stopped as the student body took a unanimous gasp. Murmurs swept the room like breeze sweeping a field of grain, and it took many throat-clearings and one firm "a-hem" before McGonagall could continue.

"Quite a few of you are aware of the happenings four years ago concerning student attacks, and I'm sure you know that the school nearly closed at that time. We have contacted the Ministry for Auror assistance, but we've received no indication that they care. So you are all to stay here, _in the tower_, until we specify otherwise. This means that you shall have a respite from all of your classes except for mine, of course, and your meals will be brought here. Should a student be found out of their Common Room or Dormitory, the consequences will be severe." She emphasized. "Is everything clear? Are there any questions?"

Silence.

"Very well then. Ghosts, you are to patrol hallways with teachers. Prefects, change passwords often. I want no chances to be taken."

McGonagall turned crisply and began to walk out, but KayKay vaulted over the back of the couch and caught up with her quickly.

"Professor? Who was it?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"The student, Professor." KayKay repeated more slowly. "Who—who was it?"

Professor McGonagall looked at KayKay gravely for a moment before answering, "A Hufflepuff named Paul Zinwar. He was found near the Great Hall, with a tattoo on his face, just like the others had."

She placed a hand on KayKay's shoulder in a maternal gesture that both parties were very unaccustomed to.

"KayKay, I'm not sure what the motive is behind these attacks, but of all the students at Hogwarts, you and Harry are most at danger. I'm not sure Harry knows of how lucky he has been these past years to have brushed up to and escaped death so many times, but I do hope that you both realize how lucky you are to have found each other. Professor Dumbledore is going to start helping you discover your . . . _abilities_ tomorrow afternoon. He expects you to be here in the Common Room to meet him at three o'clock. KayKay . . . be careful. Your group of friends has a knack for placing themselves in danger, and we can't afford it. Not now, of all times."

The teacher then turned to leave, but KayKay called out again.

"Professor?" McGonagall turned and studied her with mild interest, "What did the tattoo . . . say?

McGonagall seemed to be considering whether or not to tell KayKay for quite a while, but then gave an almost inaudible sigh.

" 'Heir' "

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Okay, so we've decided that there isn't another beast being unleashed in the school. But then, who _is_ the Heir of Slytherin acting through? I don't know about you guys, but I haven't confided in any magical diaries lately. So then who?" Ron asked as the entire group talked the next morning.

"Maybe the next heir is doing this. Maybe it's an actual sane . . . well, not _sane_ . . . but an actual person doing this, not someone who is controlled. Maybe they know exactly what they're doing." Megan suggested.

"Maybe . . . you see all these tattoos on the people, it's like the culprit _wants_ us to figure something out . . ." Hermione added slowly.

"Just like the messages painted on the wall when the Chamber was opened! Like a warning!" Harry exclaimed, snapping his fingers as it clicked in his head.

"So it's the Heir of Slytherin . . . the—"

"No." KayKay said so suddenly, so sharply, that everyone jumped at the first thing spoken by KayKay for over ten minutes of debate.

"What? What do you mean?" Megan said quickly, looking at KayKay in bewilderment.

"I . . . I don't think it's the Heir of Slytherin," she answered, seeming uncomfortable.

__

He couldn't be . . . even Voldemort couldn't work through KayKay, could he? Harry thought in disbelief.

"Who else could it be? The last tattoo said 'Heir" . . ."

"But why of Slytherin? Couldn't it be the Heir of . . ." KayKay hesitated, then licked her lips nervously and finished, "Voldemort?"

The circle of friends stirred; Ron flinched, Hermione's brow furrowed in thought, Megan looked taken aback, Harry nodded slowly, thinking it plausible, and KayKay looked like she wasn't certain whether or not she'd been right to suggest that Lord Voldemort had an heir.

"But wouldn't that make the person Heir of Slytherin anyhow? I mean, if Voldemort is . . ."

"No, Hermione answered Megan slowly, "It is logical. Until Voldemort dies, _he's_ the Heir of Slytherin. Right now, whoever is behind all of this, assuming that KayKay's idea is correct, is still just the Heir of Voldemort."

" 'Just' the Heir of Voldemort?" Megan said.

"You know what I mean." Hermione said. "It's pretty plausible that—"

"Harry? KayKay? Are you ready?"

Harry looked up in surprise at McGonagall, who had chanced upon their meeting.

"Ready?" he echoed blankly, "What for?"

"I'll explain on the way, Harry," KayKay supplied, standing up immediately, "come on."

* * * * *

"I can't believe you didn't tell me that Dumbledore was giving us lessons!" Harry hissed as he and KayKay followed Professor McGonagall down the abandoned hallways. KayKay's head turned sharply.

"I can't believe you're getting mad at me about something like this! I just forgot, okay? Honestly Harry, you're being an absolute child!"

"_I'm_ a child? Look who resorts to juvenile schematics when a girl gets on her nerves!" Harry countered, still annoyed at the fact that KayKay hadn't told him her opinion on Sabrina's story.

"I'm _in_ the juvenile age category, you dolt, so if my act was juvenile then it was to be expected." KayKay retorted. "And even if it _was_ childish . . . which it wasn't," she added, making Harry's smirk of victory falter, "you're not the only one who missed out on a lot of childhood! You're not the only one who had to grow up and get serious far before anybody else you knew! I had catching up to do."

"Yeah, well you don't see me crawling over tables and grabbing little kids by the collar!" Harry said, his anger mounting.

"Oh forgive me, that's right. You're Harry Potter, the only victim in this world of a coldhearted murder, your way is the only way to deal with seeing your family die. You're Harry Potter, that angel of a boy who has such a tragic story, such a sweet story, such heartwarming bravery that all witches say to their kids, 'I hope you grow up to be as fine a character as that Harry Potter!' "

KayKay gave him a glare that could freeze fire before turning her head away and walking faster to catch up with McGonagall.

"Well, wonderful to see that you've caught up with the rest of the world!" Harry called after her, not caring if the Professor heard.

And so, it was with scowls of annoyance that Harry and KayKay arrived at their meeting with Dumbledore.

* * * * *

"Wait . . . so if you know less about this magic than we do then _why_ are we here?" KayKay asked Dumbledore.

"I told you already, KayKay, I may not know how you go about using your powers, but I can help you learn. So, let us get down to business. I believe we should start the way you two started. If you would please hold hands . . ."

Harry and KayKay threw quick glares at each other before KayKay grudgingly gave Harry her hands. He gripped them less gently then he probably would on a different occasion, but he felt a difference in her grip too. It was normally warm and smooth, her hands resting easily in his, but now it was cold, stiff, and tight.

"I would like the two of you to try raising a shield, and I will throw a curse at you. Ready? I'll cast on three, but you can raise your shield at any time. One . . . two . . ."

He was counting plenty slow enough for them to raise a shield in time . . . honestly, they'd set one is a fraction of a second last Spring! But every time Harry tried to concentrate, he got angry again.

". . . Three! _Gelidus_!"

They didn't have one up. The curse hit them both at the same time, knocking them to the ground, and Harry shuddered violently. He was surely colder than he'd been in his whole life, and that included the time Dudley locked him out of the house one winter. It felt like every part of him was slowly shutting down, and even though he knew he wouldn't die, it still frightened it some.

"_Confuto!_"

Harry sighed in relief as warmth flooded back to him after Dumbledore had cast the counter curse. The calm was to be short-lived.

"What is your problem, Harry?! Why didn't you try to set the shield?!" KayKay demanded angrily.

"If you haven't noticed, this is a two-person effort! It's not all my fault!" Harry retorted.

"If _you_ haven't noticed, I did my part!"

"Oh, I'm sure."

"Just because you seem to have issues with a relatively easy thing doesn't mean everyone else—"

"KayKay! Harry! Stop!" Dumbledore commanded, silencing KayKay. She threw one last glower at Harry before standing up and brushing herself off.

"And Harry," he continued, "I must concur that KayKay did her part. The attack . . . or more appropriately, retaliation part of the shield was up. Her part is represented by a shimmering orb that surrounds the both of you, and it was up."

KayKay smiled smugly at Harry, who mouthed, "Show off" at her. She stepped forward and opened her mouth to give a snappy comeback, but the headmaster interjected.

"Still," Dumbledore continued, "I can see that today isn't the best of days to be starting this. Harry, KayKay, perhaps you should go back to your Common Room and take some time for yourselves until you can calm down. We'll try again in a few days."

Okay. So it _was_ pretty creepy when Dumbledore always knew what was going on.

Still, Harry hoped he'd be as intimidating someday.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

KayKay was positively fuming as she stomped down the staircase from the headmaster's office. _He_ was blaming _her_ for his idiocy?! Sure, an easy thing to do when your defensive powers kick in _after_ a curse hits you! They'd keep it from being to painful for him, but all she had were powers of retaliation! 

Too bad she couldn't direct that tiny zap of payback at Harry instead of Dumbledore.

She banged through the door at the foot of the stairs and headed towards the entrance hall.

"Where the heck are you going?!" Harry yelled after her.

"I don't really think it's necessary for _you_ to know, _Potter_." She shouted over her shoulder before pushing open the heavy oak door and going quickly outside into the snow.

Finally free, KayKay inhaled deeply of the crisp air, crossing her arms over her chest. She tilted her face up to the sky, letting the fluffy snowflakes caress her face like soft kisses. When she released her breath in a sigh, it clouded the air in front of her.

This utter peace was broken as the front door slammed again, followed swiftly by the sound of quite a bit of snow falling from the roof. KayKay turned quickly and almost laughed. As it was, she had to suppress a smile.

Harry had followed her out, but when he slammed the door behind him, snow from the roof slipped down and covered him.

"Oh, you think it's funny, do you?" Harry wiped his glasses off as best he could. "Well maybe . . ." he stooped down and grabbed some snow, "you'll get a little chuckle out of this . . ."

He launched the snowball at KayKay, hitting her shoulder. Precariously balanced, she tumbled back in the snow, getting a cold mouthful. She jumped up, spitting it out and packing another snowball.

"You're a dead man, Potter!" she screamed, throwing it at him before racing over and pushing him into the snow. Laughing wildly, she ran as Harry chased after her, both of them scooping up snow and throwing it at each other as fast as they could manage.

KayKay suddenly tripped over . . . well, _something_. She wasn't sure what, but she stumbled and fell into the snow. Harry, who hadn't had time to react, tripped over her legs and went sprawling down next to her.

"Get your _arm_ off of my _chest!_ KayKay said through clenched teeth, pushing it away. "Jeez, knock the breath right out of me, Potter!" she threw a handful of snow at his face.

"Yeah? Make me fall in the snow, Determan!" he retorted, throwing snow at her as well.

"Clumsy oaf!"

"Bratty female!"

"Jerk!"

"Immature child!"

"Idiot!"

"God you're cute when you argue." Harry breathed.

KayKay was ready to slap him. Or better, slug him. Honestly, what girl wants to be cute when she's mad, rather than intimidating?

"Oh yeah? Well you—" KayKay stopped as Harry put his hand on her cheek and placed his lips over hers.

__

Ah, I get it now! Harry is suicidal! she thought, ready to push him away. _Oh! Too late!_

KayKay resisted only a moment longer before succumbing to Harry's sweet gesture and kissing him back as her arms slowly wrapped around him in a warm embrace. She leaned further into Harry, all of her frustrations ebbing away to be replaced by amusement, amusement at their silly argument and even sillier reconciliation.

Harry pulled her closer in an almost instinctive manner, deepening the sweet kiss and holding her thin frame gently. KayKay felt her shivers of cold get smaller and smaller before going away altogether at the warmth welling inside of her. They were soon, however, replaced by shivers of pleasure running up and down her spine.

In that single lingering kiss, all the mean words and feelings of anger were apologized for, forgiven, and forgotten. By the time the pair drew apart, the only reminder of their dispute was Harry's statement.

"Let's not fight anymore."

And although everyone on Earth knows that even the happiest couples fight, KayKay nodded in wholehearted agreement. She kissed Harry once more, briefly, and then stood up with him. Hand in hand they set off to take a brief walk around the lake, neither noticing the knowing grin Dumbledore was sporting from where he watched at the window of his office.


	11. One of the Pack

__

*~* Chapter Eleven: One of the Pack *~*

"Harry, you're insane, I hope you know!" KayKay laughed as Harry opened the Quidditch shed. "Why do you want to fly now, of all times?"

"I said I'd make you a flyer," he said, ducking into the shed and digging through broomsticks, "and I intend to do so!"

KayKay rolled her eyes with a grin and shook her head, turning and walking along the edge of the forest as Harry continued his quest for a couple good broomsticks.

The snow was beautiful. It frosted the trees like vanilla icing on gingerbread, and gave KayKay a sense of the fast-approaching Christmas. Only twenty-seven more days!

KayKay reflected though, that while the Forbidden Forest _looked_ like a Winter Wonderland, it was forbidden for good reasons. Imagine how much she jumped, then, when she heard a low growl and a rustling in the brush.

The first thought that flashed through KayKay's mind was _Danger! I need to warn Harry and the rest of the pack!_

Looking back, she'd wonder why it didn't stand out at her that she'd thought "pack" when she surely meant "friends". She'd realize that it was her first true wolf thought, the instinct that the pack was family. It _wouldn't_, however, take her long to realize that this was the turning point in her struggle to become an Animagus.

KayKay turned quickly on her heel, running back to where she'd last seen Harry with the thought _Protect the pack_ running through her head. So it took her a moment to realize that she wasn't running on two legs, but instead, four. When she did notice, she skidded to a halt, paws sliding a bit on the icy boards outside of the Quidditch shed.

She took an instant inventory of herself. The air smelled different. Not unpleasant, but different. She could smell Harry inside the shed, and she could smell the mouse that had run across the threshold a few hours ago. The air smelled cleaner too.

Looking down, she saw two black paws with sharp nails, and turning her head to look at her rear, she saw a bushy black tail tipped with white wagging happily. She tried her voice with a deep, joyful howl. It gave her shivers of pleasure, but it seemed to frighten Harry, who was just walking out of the shed. She could smell the fear, which surprised her some. Getting used to having the nose of a wolf would take some work.

Bounding over to Harry, she stood on her hind legs and put her front paws on his chest, saying _"Look! It worked! All right, Harry, now it's your turn!"_

Maybe it would have worked better if her words didn't sound like barking and yipping. He still looked frightened, and KayKay tipped her head to the side inquisitively before licking his cheek and winking one of her crystal-blue eyes.

"K—KayKay?" he gasped. KayKay-the-wolf dipped her head in acknowledgement before dropping to all fours and bolting off, clearly challenging Harry to a race.

"Hey!" Harry yelled, abandoning the broomsticks. Without even looking, KayKay could tell that he was chasing after her, and she howled again with joy when his command turned to a wolfish one, _"Come back here!"_

Turning to face him and panting with happiness, she was nearly run over as he flew past, running as quickly as he could before curving around and coming back. They romped together for a long while, playing almost like young pups. It felt so good to run fast, almost as fast as the wind, and they raced each other, both trying to trip the other one up as they wrestled in the snow. Panting, they flopped down in the snow, finally tired out. The two wolves curled up next to each other as they rested.

"Wow." KayKay said softly, turning back to herself.

"Yeah." Harry agreed, becoming normal once more. "That was so . . ."

"Cool?" KayKay supplied, looking at Harry. He'd made a cute wolf too, although she never _had_ seen a green-eyed wolf.

"Wicked."

They smiled at each other, and Harry stood before reaching down to give KayKay a hand up.

"Come on, let's go tell the others."

They laughed at themselves as they stumbled a bit, trying to get used to having two legs again. They were still laughing and leaning against each other for support when they got up to the Common Room and stumbled over to where the rest of their friends were sitting.

"You two seem . . .happy." Hermione commented, looking at KayKay who was pushing Harry playfully while giggling like mad. "What's so funny?"

The two immediately sobered up, trying to remember what exactly _had_ set them into hysterics. They looked at each other and immediately burst into laughter again, KayKay covering her face with her hands and practically falling off of her chair while Harry pounded his fist on the table. The three not privilege to this humor exchanged glances and waited for an explanation.

"I'd slap KayKay if it weren't for the fact that it'd only end up making her laugh harder," Megan whispered to Hermione, who nodded.

"Phew!" KayKay sighed, finally getting enough oxygen to control herself. "Okay, I'm over it. I'm calm. Honest. Harry?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Harry answered quickly, though his face was red from holding himself back. "Now, what was the question?"

Megan studied them warily and asked, "Do we have any need to send for Madame Pomfrey?"

"NO!" KayKay and Harry exclaimed in unison.

"We were laughing so much because . . ."

"Well, it _was_ really funny . . ."

"You'd laugh too if you tried to stand up . . ."

"And fell back down . . ."

"Because you weren't used to having two legs."

It was like a tennis match. Megan, Ron, and Hermione looked back and forth from Harry to KayKay.

"Translation . . .?" Megan requested.

"We did it. We transformed." Harry whispered.

"What?" Ron asked in shock, "Just now?"

"How?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, so _that_ was all the howling." Megan said.

"To answer; yes, yes, and because we finally felt the instinct of being one of the pack." KayKay said.

" 'One of the pack'?" Megan echoed. Harry nodded to her.

"One of the pack." He agreed.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ *

Classes began again, and Harry and KayKay's transformations seemed to give the rest of the "pack" the inspiration necessary to try even harder to become Animagi.

Hermione was next to succeed. Sometime around the Third of December, she slipped away from the group, muttering something about mailing a letter. Half an hour later, when KayKay opened the Dormitory window for an owl with a letter in its beak, Hermione flew in triumphantly. This prestigious arrival was somewhat dampened be the three-point crash landing she made on her bed, flopping over and almost falling off before righting herself and turning back to normal. Hermione was met by laughter and ecstatic hugs of congratulations from KayKay, as she giggled at herself for her bumpy landing.

Ron's victory, while less conveniently timed, was all the same rather amusing. On about the Fifth, he had been talking to Harry about some new Quidditch strategies he had for them to practice as soon as the snow melted.

"Oooh, we'll sneak that Quidditch Cup out right from underneath Slytherin's nose!" he said cunningly. "They'll never expect it!"

At that moment, he gave new meaning to the term, "Sly as a fox". He changed, right then and there, causing Harry to jump a few feet from shock. Ron-the-fox simply blinked a few times, as if trying to figure out why he was suddenly looking at Harry's legs, rather than his face.

Megan's moment of glory came the very next day, as she was on a tirade about some guy who'd been flirting with her, suggesting they cut Herbology and snog behind the green houses instead.

"And honestly! He thinks that sounds attractive?" Megan asked scathingly, "When guys are that . . . blunt, it just makes me want to . . . claw their eyes out or something!"

It's probably unnecessary to elaborate on what happened next to Megan.

It did serve to surprise Harry. He hadn't suspected that they would transform so . . . oddly. Yes, KayKay's transformation made more sense, considering she was running to warn the "pack", thinking the way a wolf would, but as for Ron and Megan . . . could clichés have anything to do with becoming an Animagus? He wouldn't have thought so . . . 

__

But, he supposed,_ I guess it doesn't matter, now that we've finally figured it out._

He inhaled deeply, and let his breath out with a happy sigh. Christmas was in the air, and the halls were bedecked with holly, pine boughs, and magical twinkling lights. Harry's spirits were high, for Christmas was only sixteen days away, and for the first time ever he'd be going home for Christmas with Sirius. He'd felt a bit bad at first, thinking of how Ron would be with his family and how Megan was going home with Hermione for Christmas, leaving KayKay alone, but she ended that quickly.

"Don't be stupid, Harry!" she'd laughed, "If you hadn't decided to go home for Christmas, I would have _made_ you. Besides, I won't be alone. I have a home here too, remember? Remus and I will have to Floo though, because he's needed for setting up security over holiday. You, being Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and all. So I won't be able to ride the train with you, Ron, Hermione, and Megan, but I'll still be going home."

Okay. So she would go home with Remus. Of course. Harry knew that. He wasn't daft.

Really.

Harry was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't watch where he was going until he tripped over something and went sprawling to the cold floor. He stood up slowly, checking himself for injuries. Nothing broken, just a sore knee.

Finding all of his body intact, Harry looked back to see what he'd tripped over. A loose stone in the floor, perhaps?

He froze. Not a loose stone . . . 

__

An arm.

A whole body, in fact, but the arm was what he'd stumbled upon, no pun intended. Harry approached it slowly, as if the young girl would spring up and bite him. She didn't of course, she simply remained motionless on the floor. Slowly sinking to his knees beside her, Harry brushed aside the black hair covering the girl's face and felt his stomach clench.

There it was, the tattoo branding her as another victim, this one saying, "COME".

Harry was seized by some sort of sudden panic. He jumped to his feet, looking around wildly, convinced he was being watched but, seeing no one, he simply turned and ran back the way he had come. Who knows how long he would have kept running if he hadn't run into something solid that shouldn't have been right there in the middle of the hall.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"No, I still can't think of what to get him for Christmas," KayKay said to Hermione. "With the rest of the gang it's simple; just toss Ron a bag of Dungbombs and he's set to go. But with a boyfriend . . . it's harder, y'know? Maybe I can think of some Quidditch thing—oof!"

She was just turning the corner on the way up to the Common Room when somebody collided with her, knocking her to the ground.

"Hey, why don't you look where you're—oh, it's just you, Harry"

KayKay was prepared for him to pretend to be hurt, maybe say, "_Just_ me? Oh, thanks", but when he just offered her a hand up and didn't say anything, not even "Sorry", she got suspicious.

"Harry? Harry, what is it?" Harry seemed somewhat dazed and unresponsive.

"Harry! For crying out loud, snap out of it!" she exclaimed, slapping his cheeks gently. He shook his head and grabbed her hand, pulling her along with him back down the hallway.

"Harry, what . . .? Oh no." she said softly when she saw up ahead someone crouching by a body. Letting go of Harry's hand, she walked slowly closer, stopping a few feet back.

Madison was looking down at an Asian girl, tracing the tattoo on her temple with a fingernail. Madison wasn't facing KayKay, but she seemed to sense that someone was right behind her. She whipped her head around quickly with a small gasp. For a brief moment, KayKay got a glimpse of the real Madison Jacobs, the girl behind the sneers and scorn. 

"What are you doing?" KayKay asked.

"I . . . I . . ." The mask slid back on, "I don't see that it's any business of _yours_ Determan. I can ask you the same thing. Or better, I can ask your boyfriend! He didn't seem to be doing much different a few minutes ago."

"You were _spying_ on him?"

"Oh, _please_. Like I'm one to watch. Listen Determan, I can see where this is going, and you're crazy. If I wanted your boyfriend, I'd be _doing_ something about it, not watching him like some innocent little schoolgirl." She said, rolling her eyes but glancing at Harry all the same.

"Who said _anything_ about Harry? You're the only one to bring it up. I dunno, Jacobs," KayKay said, looking at the ceiling and continuing in an offhand voice, "If I didn't know that you were to meticulous to make a mistake, I'd say that you just let something slip."

"Oh, come off it!" Madison sneered, giving KayKay rough shove. "If you haven't noticed, the situation here isn't about boys or desires or adolescent dramas! This is about a murder by some maniac who thinks they're the heir of some Dark Lord!"

There was a ringing silence right after she spoke, and everyone froze, save Madison, who clapped a hand to her mouth.

KayKay slowly took a step closer to Madison, scrutinizing her carefully.

"Are you . . .?"

"What's going on here?" a cold voice demanded. Everyone took an involuntary step back as Snape swept into the scene, looking at Harry, KayKay, and Hermione with suspicion. "Who discovered the girl?"

Everyone looked at Harry.

"Potter. I should have guessed," he sneered, "what with his Second Year."

"Harry wasn't responsible for that!" KayKay exclaimed.

"Funny, I don't seem to recall _you_ having been there. Five points for Gryffindor for talking back." He said, looking at KayKay with disdain. He turned to Madison. "Odd that it was Potter who found the girl. I had assumed that it was you, Jacobs, considering that you were the one to inform me. Very well done, though. Five points for Slytherin."

"But I didn't—"

"Don't worry, the Headmaster shall be here shortly. Now go, all of you! To the Great Hall, and tell anyone else you see on your way to go with as well! The Deputy Headmistress will no doubt need to say something . . ." he stopped, then shouted, "Why are you still here? I said, GO!"

KayKay jumped a small inch, then fumbled for Harry's hand and pulled him with her, not taking her eyes off of the irate Snape until she'd rounded the corner. Hermione was right alongside KayKay, and Madison was a few paces away. KayKay eyed her suspiciously until the girl noticed.

"Honestly you guys! I didn't send _any_ kind of message to Snape! When would I have had time to anyhow?!" She exclaimed, stopping just outside the doors to the Great Hall.

"Who knows how long you were watching before Harry—"

"Oh, for the love of Merlin! Even if I _had _had time to get a teacher, Snape would _not_ have been my first choice. Even though Dumbledore's office _is_ further away, I'd go there before to Snape!"

"Why?" KayKay asked simply.

" 'Why?' _'Why?'_" Madison asked incredulously. "Are you _shrink-wrapped_?! Like Mr. Tall-dark-and-creepy is the guy you go to when someone's been murdered! No thank you." She actually shivered a bit.

"Ummm . . . when _did_ you—"

"Uh, excuse me, but I've wrecked my self image enough already. I don't need to stand here any longer talking to a stupid Gryffindor." Madison interrupted. KayKay watched as she turned away and walked into the Great Hall before looking at Harry.

"Wow. She was really civil. Didn't call me Mudblood or anything."

* * * * *

KayKay looked over the racks of things in Honeydukes, wrinkling her nose. Sure there were plenty of sweets that Harry liked . . . but Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans weren't the type of thing that a girl gave to her boyfriend for Christmas.

Men were difficult to shop for, she decided. Boys would be happy with an action figure or bar of chocolate, but what can you get for a guy you're dating? Girlfriends were definitely easier to shop for . . . a guy could buy a ring or a necklace or earrings for a girl and everything would be fine.

And if all three matched! That could cover Christmas, an anniversary, and a birthday!

Sighing, KayKay shoved a box of sugar quills back onto the shelf and left Honeydukes to continue on her quest for a perfect Christmas gift before she had to meet the rest of the gang in—she checked her watch—yikes! Only an hour and a half, and she hadn't gotten anything yet!

As she stepped outside, the bitter wind whipped at her mercilessly, catching her cloak and making her grab at it to hold it closed as she squinted down the street.

Some shops she saw were new, others familiar. The store across from her looked new, and magical letters above the door that glittered read, "THAT WITCH".

Feeling that it was worth a peek and that it would get her out of the cold, if nothing else, she hurried in. As she brushed snow out of her hair, she looked around.

It was definitely a store targeting her generation. There were colored lights and if her ears were right, the radio was featuring, "The Weird Sisters".

She didn't find anything for Harry, but she got almost all of the rest of her Christmas list covered. She found a couple cute necklaces for Megan and Hermione; Megan's was a tiny glass bottle, filled with red pixie dust. A pewter cat wound around the bottle, and a thin chain supported it. Hermione's was the same, the exception being that rather than a cat, an owl held the small bottle of purple pixie dust.

After considering for a while, KayKay decided to get herself one with a wolf and blue pixie dust, simply for fun.

After selecting the necklaces, she looked at another rack of men's necklaces. She didn't see any suitable for Ron or Harry, but she did see a type that she knew was quite popular back in the United States. She picked one out to send to Chad and then, after a moment's indecision, one for Matt. He _was_ her friend after all . . . and he helped so much with the trial . . .

Almost an hour later, she could be found at another store pulling out her money to pay for the gift she'd finally found for Harry. She hoped he'd like it . . .

She also hoped that Sirius didn't decide to replace the pocketknife Harry had that had rusted.

The one she was getting him was a rather nice pocketknife . . . the blade was engraved with an image of a wolf and, "Merry Christmas, Harry! From KayKay with love" in fancy, scripted letters. 

Checking her watch, she placed her change in her pocket, thanked the man, and took her purchase out into the cold street with her to meet everyone else at the Three Broomsticks.

* * * * *

"Okay, so this is what we have so far . . ." Hermione cleared her throat and lifted the paper she'd just finished jotting notes on. "Four victims so far, two boys, two girls. Two were from Slytherin, one was from Ravenclaw, and one was from Hufflepuff. They were all First Years . . . and they all had a tattoo on their right temple. In order from first to most recent, they've said, "ONE'S", "I'M", "HEIR", and "COME". We're nearly _certain_ that they're dead, and it's using a curse that isn't known by anyone yet. I think that's all the evidence. Now, who are our suspects?"

Harry, Ron, Megan, KayKay, and Hermione were seated around a table at the Three Broomsticks, drinking some Butterbeers and talking about the attack the night prior.

"Madison is definitely high on the list. She was acting really suspicious last night." Harry said.

"Yes, but if she was telling the truth, then Snape is on our suspect list too." KayKay said.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Hermione exclaimed, then continued in a whisper, "He's a spy for our side! Dumbledore knows who's trustworthy and who isn't."

"Well, there's no one to say that he hasn't been picked by You-Know-Who to do this and he's behind the attacks but not necessarily _killing_ them? You _said_ we were almost certain they were dead . . . but we aren't completely sure, right?"

Hermione sighed slowly. "No . . . "

"Okay, so put it down," he said, "these are just suspects, after all. We aren't making accusations."

KayKay though carefully as Hermione rolled her eyes but scribbled the professor's name down. If a professor was a suspect for that comment, then so many other people were too . . . like the girl who had found the first two bodies. What was her name? Jaymi? She didn't like the idea that a fellow Gryffindor was doing this, but it was hard to overlook that no Gryffindors had died.

Then again, what if Voldemort or his Heir was somehow playing with the minds of the victims? Then in a sense, their hands bore their own blood . . . and it would be harder to tag people as suspects because the location of anyone at a given time didn't matter if their minds were being controlled.

And even further, if it was another scenario in which Voldemort was controlling the Heir's action, as he had with Ginny Weasley, then _anyone_ was a suspect.

KayKay propped her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands. It was like turning in circles. If only they had different evidence . . . something easier to trace back to someone. 

__

Motive . . . who would have a motive? she thought glumly._ Anyone who was an Heir to a Dark Lord. THAT would be the motive. And since we don't have enough evidence to find out who the Heir would be . . ._

She shifted positions, sitting back in her chair and looking up at the ceiling. _Okay, so who would BE Heir to Voldemort? If it's a blood heir, then it's probably someone in Slytherin, someone with mean, pureblood parents or something, that's another arrow towards Madison . . . but then again, I doubt Voldemort was the paternal type. I can't picture him raising a kid. So then what if it isn't someone related to him? We're back to it conceivably being anyone._

It made her head hurt to try to think of it. KayKay drained the rest of the Butterbeer from her mug and stood up.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting a headache from all of this thinking in circles. What do you say that we head back to Hogwarts and tackle this again tomorrow?"

"A good idea, if we weren't going home for the holiday tomorrow." Megan said sarcastically. "But I agree. I'm ready to go to bed, and I still have to pack. Let's catch a carriage back to school and tackle this again after Christmas. I think nearly everyone's going home after all this attack business."

Harry threw a few coins on the table to pay for the group's Butterbeers, and they all headed back to the security of Hogwarts, where they all began to pack to go home for Christmas, many of them for the first time.

KayKay tossed fitfully, as a nightmare unfolded in her mind. She was running through the forest as a wolf when she saw a snake slithering over the dead leaves that littered the forest floor. She began to follow it, but as she got closer, the snake moved faster, and it was all she could do to keep it in sight. As she went, she saw bodies. The first four were the one's of students that had already died, but as she got further along she saw new bodies until at a clearing she stopped and looked down at her friends; Hermione, Ron, Megan, Harry, Remus . . . all with tattoos on their temples.

"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN"

She clapped a hand over her mouth, but before she had time for reality to sink in, she heard rustling behind her. Turning around, she stumbled back in fear, as a snake, as wide around as she was with a human face and slender arms . . . clearly a female . . . rushed out at her, fangs bared, hands outstretched.

"NOOOOOO!"

KayKay sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily as she looked around at the Dormitory she was so familiar with, trying to get her racing heart under control. She wiped at her tearstained face and took a deep breath.

"It was only a dream . . . just a dream . . ."

She settled back under the covers, thankful that no one had woken up to her yelling. She fell back asleep and dreamt of Christmas trees and gingerbread.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, me again. *jeez, will the girl ever shut up???* No. *fiendish grin* 

Okay, I've kicked this into high gear, and I'm aware that all this stuff in the story is getting dumped on you--hey wait, what do I care? Haha. No really, just kidding. So again, if something in particular confuses you, don't hesitate to ask me at Bengalette06@aol.com. I invite inquiries with open arms!

It's so strange, to be into this Christmas stuff and it's not even Halloween yet. I feel somewhat disoriented when I see Halloween things, because in my story and in choir we're already getting into Christmas. Oy. I keep humming Christmas carols and getting strange looks. I also, after writing this stuff for a while, go outside and blink in confusion for a while when I don't see any snow.

*shrugs* Maybe it's me.

Okay, I know I say this aaallllllllll the time, but: Please review! Please? PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE, you don't want me to BEG do you??? I'm not going to demand 20 reviews before I post again like a lot of writers on this site, I'm happy with one even, it's like a little ego-booster that gives me stamina to type more, and we ALL like THAT, don't we?

Don't we???


	12. Mistletoe and Mystery

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*~* Chapter Twelve: Mistletoe and Mystery *~*

"Grandma got run over by a reindeer . . . walking home from our house Christmas Eve . . . you can say there's no such thing as Santa . . . but as for me and Grandpa, we believe." KayKay sang, strumming her guitar as her fellow Gryffindors hurried around the Common Room getting their things together at the last minute.

Keeping her friends in the Christmas spirit with silly country Christmas songs was a dirty job, but someone had to do it . . .

She laughed. Yeah right. She _loved_ this!

She started another.

__

"Pleee-eeease Daddy, don't get drunk this Christmas! I don't wanna' see my Mamma cry . . . Pleee-eease—"

"What are you doing?" Harry laughed, walking up behind her and setting down his trunk.

"Putting everyone into a Christmassy mood." KayKay said defiantly.

"That's one way of putting it." Harry said, looking around the Common Room and then at KayKay.

"Oh really? What's another?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Making everyone question your sanity." He replied, leaning against the back of another chair nonchalantly.

"Oh? Then what would _you_ suggest, Saint Nick?" KayKay sounded angry, but a look at the twinkle in her eyes could assure anyone that it was all in the spirit of fun.

"I don't know . . . something a bit more contemporary, maybe? You know, like "Here We Come a-Caroling" and "Jingle Bells"?"

KayKay looked thoughtful for a moment, and then strummed a single chord before starting to sing.

__

"Here we come a-caroling among the leaves so green . . ."

Harry joined, "_. . . And here we come a-wandering so glad to be—_ hey, why'd you stop singing?"

KayKay didn't answer, but replied with a question, "Harry, have you had any music lessons over the course of your life?"

"No, why—oh, yeah I know my voice isn't that great, I'll stop singing if—"

"Stop singing? Are you _insane_? Harry, you have like, the best baritone voice I've ever heard!" KayKay exclaimed.

"I . . . what?"

"If you've never taken a lesson, then you're some kind of prodigy!"

Harry laughed. "Prodigy? I think you're just deaf. I've sung before, and it's not very pleasant."

"Maybe you had a late puberty?" KayKay suggested with a smile that told how ridiculous she thought the idea was. "Come on, let's sing it again!"

Harry hadn't wanted to, but once KayKay started he felt himself get pulled into the music.

__

"Here we come a-caroling among the leaves so green, and here we come a-wandering so glad to be seen.

Love and joy come to you, and to you glad Christmas too, and God bless you and send you a happy New Year. May he send you a happy New Year.

We are not just beggars who go from door to door, but we are neighbor's children whom you have seen before.

Love and joy come to you, and to you glad Christmas too, and God bless you and send you a happy New Year. May he send you a happy New Year."

By the time they'd finished, many other members of Gryffindor House had joined in. She was just about to start into "Deck the Halls" when the class bell rang, informing everyone that it was time to catch the carriages to the train station. There was a flurry of movement and an increase in volume as people turned and talked to their friends while grabbing and lugging their things out of the portrait hole. KayKay hugged her friends goodbye and watched silently as the common room slowly emptied around her. Once all the noise had diminished, she sat down quietly and strummed at her guitar. Remus would come get her once all the protective charms around Hogwarts were reinforced. Until then, she had a long wait ahead of her.

__

"Lul-lay Thou little tiny child," she sang softly, _"Bye, bye lul-ly lul-lay_"

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Hum-dee-dum-dee-hmmm-hmmm-hmmm-hmmm" KayKay stopped, straightened a red bow adorning the pine garland she and Remus had hung along the banister. "Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la."

She heard the kitchen timer ding, and she scurried back down the stairs and into the kitchen, sliding in her socks on the hardwood floor with a "whee!"

"Goodness Kayleigh, if you're so excited now, I can just imagine you tomorrow on Christmas!" Remus laughed as she danced over to the oven and pulled out a baking sheet of gingerbread cookies. The bells she'd tied in her hair with ribbons were jingling merrily, and her cheeks were rosy with excitement. This was to be, without a doubt, the best Christmas ever.

Well, maybe not _ever_, but so far.

"I'm so excited! This Christmas is going to be _wonderful_, I can feel it!" KayKay exclaimed, fanning the cookies absentmindedly with an oven mitt as she opened the icebox and pulled out some milk.

"Speaking of tomorrow," Remus said as KayKay poured the milk into two glasses and handed one to Remus with a cookie, "I have something I need to tell you."

KayKay stopped mid-bite. Remus sounded serious. 

"Is everything okay? Nothing's . . . happened, has it?" She asked quickly.

"Oh, no! It's just that we're going to be having a few neighbors over for dinner tomorrow. I know I should have asked you about it first since this is somewhat like your first real Christmas in ten years, but these people were always very nice to me around the Holidays, and I thought that since my home has more than just me now, I could repay their kindness. You don't mind, do you Kayleigh?"

KayKay normally wouldn't, of course, but she was still a bit jealous and saddened by the news that she'd have to share her uncle during their first Christmas together. Still, she couldn't tell him that _yes_, she _did_ mind.

She tried to imagine these neighbors. Probably kind elderly people, to offer Remus some friendship during a lonely time of the year. And he did just say "dinner", didn't he? She'd still have most of the day with him.

"Sure, no problem," she tried to say it in an offhand voice. "Is there anything I can help with for dinner?"

"Cordon Bleu, maybe?" Remus said. He laughed at the look on KayKay's face. "No, Kayleigh, everything is planned. Just don't eat all of the cookies."

"Mmmm, but it's sooo hard not to!" she said, taking another cookie and biting into it with an expression of bliss and ecstasy.

"Then I'll remove some of the temptation," Remus said, grabbing another cookie with a grin.

* * * * *

KayKay sprung up from the couch at the sound of a knock on the front door. Straightening the platter of cookies on the coffee table and smoothing her shimmering green dress robe, KayKay hurried down the hall to answer it.

Christmas morning had been fabulous. KayKay felt the Christmas morning itinerary begin to take root in her life again . . . get up early, race to wake up the rest of the family, go downstairs in pajamas and sit around the tree with a radio of Christmas specials playing while gifts were traded and chatter ensued. Cocoa stopped in, surprising Remus quite a bit, but didn't stay long. She said she was visiting every one of KayKay's friends, muttering something about how "A common post owl would never be so considerate"

In the afternoon, Remus and KayKay went outside and built a snowman. How long had it been since she'd made a snowman? She wasn't sure. Not since at least five or six years ago, very possibly more. 

Simple pleasures. Simple things she'd taken for granted when she was younger.

Still, even though having a good Christmas with a loving uncle was wonderful, she felt a small loneliness. The pang of homesickness for her family that she has hardened herself to when she'd lost them came again against her will upon getting back into the tradition of Christmas. 

What would she say to them if she had the chance, if she had only a minute? Would she finally tell her big brother how much she looked up to him? Would she tell her father how brave she wanted to be, just like him? She wasn't sure. It didn't matter. She was still happy. That was how they'd have wanted it.

Placing her most welcoming smile on her face, KayKay turned the doorknob and pulled the door open, saying, "Merry Christmas . . ." Her voice dropped as she looked at the face on the other side of the doorway with surprise.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"What are you doing here?" Harry and KayKay asked at the same time. KayKay rolled her eyes and exclaimed over her shoulder, "Remus!" as Harry was saying, "Sirius!"

The two guardians had wide grins of amusement at how they'd hoodwinked the two.

"You made it sound like you were inviting two . . . old people!" KayKay said.

"Oh, thank you" Harry said sarcastically. "Nice to know I'm so attractive."

"Tell you what," Sirius said with a laugh, "let's continue this inside, eh?"

"Oh, of course!" KayKay said with a small jump. She stepped aside to allow Harry and Sirius to come out of the cold. Harry unbuttoned his cloak and shook some snow out of his hair. KayKay reached out to take his cloak from him, having already taken Sirius', but Harry shook his head and walked with her when she shrugged and led the way to the porch.

"Wow, is this your room?" Harry asked as KayKay set the cloak down on a chair. The room was strung with tiny colored Christmas lights, much like the Muggle kind, except that these seemed to shimmer magically and they weren't hindered by an electrical cord. A small toy train followed tracks on the floor that wound around the room, under a table, past a window, and beneath a hammock.

"Yep" KayKay confirmed, sitting in the hammock. "Meet my bed."

She patted the hammock with approval, then stood up and joined Harry near the window where he was looking out at the falling snowflakes and letting the Christmas music playing from radio wash over him.

"You seem really pensive tonight," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder and startling him out of his thoughts. He looked at her briefly before pulling her closer and bidding her to look out the window.

"Look KayKay," he said. "Look at the snow. Look at the room. Look at the house. _Your_ house. Look down there a ways . . . look at _my_ house. Listen." They both stood in silence for a few moments and listened to the crackling of the fire in the living room, the laughter of their guardians.

"Look! Look at you, at me, at _us!_" he took her hand and turned her to face him.

"It's what we both always wanted. A place that really _is_ home. A place we really _are_ loved. Just look at it KayKay!" he spun her as if they were dancing and placed his hands softly on her shoulders. "Isn't it amazing? Sometimes I wonder if it's even _real_" he breathed.

KayKay looked up at him slowly, inhaled deeply, and let her breath out slowly, and Harry had to catch his breath. It was crazy, silly even, but to him she'd never seemed so beautiful as that moment when she looked up at him with a shred of insecurity masked mostly be peaceful bliss.

"You're right." She said softly. "I sometimes am afraid I'm just asleep. I mean, I have a place I call home—_my_ home . . . I have friends and family to love . . . it's the same sort of thing dreams are made out of." Harry hugged her close.

"See? I told you we'd find those two lovebirds back here!" a voice laughed from the door of the porch, making Harry and KayKay jump.

Standing at the doorway was two boys. One he knew already, Chad. But the other one, the one who had spoken, he didn't know.

"Matt! Chad!" KayKay exclaimed, running and giving ecstatic hugs to first the new guy . . . Matt, and then Chad. "What are you two doing here?"

"Like we'd miss the party?" Chad laughed, "Not on your life!" He looked past KayKay and strode into room. "Harry! Been a while, man!"

"Well, I know Chad and you, of course . . . or at least, I'd hope so . . . but may I meet the elusive Harry?" Matt asked, looking past KayKay and taking a few steps in, towards the rest of the entourage.

"Oh! Of . . . of course." KayKay said. Why was she blushing? "Matt, this is Harry. Harry, Matt. He helped a lot with the trial, and quite a lot of me being alive is to his credit, since he looked after me over the summer . . . which I didn't know about and thus started thinking he was a stalker," she said, emphasizing the last part. "He's the one that inadvertently freaked you out when you messaged me and . . ." she looked Matt up and down, "and he's wearing a cowboy hat. Matt, why are you wearing that crazy thing?"

"Oh, I forgot! I should take it off, huh? Let's see, coat rack, coat rack, coat rack . . ." he muttered, looking around, "Ah!" he plopped it onto KayKay's head. "Coat rack."

"Har har" KayKay deadpanned, tipping the brim up so she could see. "You're a laugh and a half, Matt."

Harry would probably be mad if it was someone else KayKay was joking around with, but he knew that any feelings Matt had had for KayKay were part of the past. If they weren't, Harry couldn't see any sign of them through his words of actions—he treated KayKay the way an old family friend would. 

Besides, he could read KayKay plainly and she clearly harbored no feelings for Matt. What they were doing wasn't really flirting, it was more like . . . like a friendly rivalry.

"Hey, do you over-energized adolescents want to eat or what?" Sirius asked, poking his head into the room.

"Need I remind you that _you_ were the one jumping on _my_ bed to wake _me_ up this morning?" Harry retorted with a laugh as the four teens herded towards the door.

"I was teaching you how it's done, you amateur." Sirius said, sticking out his tongue at Harry as they shuffled around the table and sat down to the wonderful Christmas meal.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~* ~ *

Everyone was sitting in the living room and talking happily. Hermione and Megan had showed up shortly after dinner had ended, and KayKay realized (with a bit of shame) that most of this was for her. And she had been reluctant to share her uncle on Christmas!

"Sirius!" Harry called across the room, "What are you doing?"

Sirius, who had been pointing his wand at the ceiling and murmuring something, dropped it quickly and replied, "Nothing!"

He may have been more convincing if he hadn't been wearing a mischievous grin.

"He's digressing to one of his more popular Christmas pranks." Remus answered for his friend. "Magical mistletoe"

There was an outbreak of laughter from all the adolescents.

"You mean the kind that moves around the room during the night?" Matt asked.

Sirius nodded. "Only the best."

"Now the question is, how does _Matt_ know about mistletoe pranks?" KayKay said, clutching her abdomen as she laughed.

"And also, what will happen when it moves over Sirius and Remus?" Megan added.

All the teen boys looked at each other and quickly stepped apart, grabbing the arm of the closest girl.

"Get off of me!" KayKay exclaimed, shaking them off, much to the amusement of Sirius and Remus.

"Shame we thought of that ahead of time. But we knew it wouldn't be much fun for two guys to be trapped under the mistletoe." Sirius said.

The boys all sighed with visible relief and granted KayKay her personal bubble once more. She used her newfound freedom to walk over to the record player sitting in the corner and put on a Christmas album. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" soon filled the room.

"Shall we dance?" Harry offered almost immediately. KayKay accepted, and soon Chad and Megan joined. Seeing that they were the only two people their age left, Hermione and Matt danced, and KayKay was pleased to overhear them talking quite comfortably before too long.

"So, he's the guy who wrote me that letter?" Harry asked KayKay after a bit, nodding at Matt.

"Well . . . yes." KayKay answered. "I think he had a crush on me, but it seems to have passed." She answered.

She actually wasn't sure. She almost was, but every now and then she'd catch him looking at her.

"Yeah, I think so too. And if your _boyfriend_ is fine with him, you know there's nothing to be suspicious of," Harry agreed, looking at Matt out of the corner of his eye. He looked back at KayKay and changed the subject.

"So, was your Christmas morning as enjoyable as you dreamed?"

"Even more so" KayKay answered with a smile. "It was great! It just had the . . . Christmas feeling to it, you know? Hard to explain." She thought though, by Harry's lack of confusion, that he knew what she meant. "And you?"

"Perfect, of course." Harry replied. "But I think Sirius was even more excited about it than I was."

KayKay laughed. "Did he really jump on your bed?"

"Believe it or not, yes! He—"

"Excuse me. Mind if I cut in?"

The song had switched over to "Winter Wonderland", and Matt was waiting politely for a prospective dance. KayKay looked at Harry, who nodded to signify that he was fine with it.

"I'll go dance with Hermione," Harry said, leaving as KayKay took Matt's hands.

"Well, it's been a while." KayKay said. "Two months? So, how's life?"

"Life's . . . pretty good, I'd have to say. O'Connor has finally settled down . . . she was in a rage after your trial, did you know? Only thing that kept me from scouring pots the rest of my days was the magical restrictions that accompany a court trial. She couldn't take it out on me, so kids were getting weeks of detention for being a minute late to class."

"Not really!" KayKay gasped. "Oh, for the love of Pete!"

"Pete? Who is this 'Pete'? Not Harry?" Matt joked, raising an eyebrow.

"Matt!"

"Okay, okay, I know. I'm glad you've found your place, even though O'Connor isn't." Matt looked over at Harry dancing with Hermione, the both of them laughing at themselves, and he commented, "Harry is very lucky. But from what I've seen," he turned back to KayKay, "you both deserve each other. And by the way, you look very . . . nice"

"Thanks." She smiled. Matt stopped dancing. She looked at him inquisitively, and was about to say something when he beat her to it.

"Why'd you stop?"

"Stop? I didn't stop, you stopped!"

"No, I—" they both froze, and then slowly looked up.

The mistletoe had magicked itself over their heads, and it must have also been enchanted to trap people under it.

KayKay yelped and tried to jump back a pace, but the magic wouldn't let her. From where they sat Remus and Sirius were laughing hysterically, and Harry seemed to be struggling to keep a straight face.

"Oh, come on you guys! Don't do this to me . . . no offense!" she added hastily, throwing a glance at Matt, who held up his hands in a careless gesture.

"None taken."

"Aw, come on! Harry? Please?" she requested with a forced smile of sweetness. Harry grinned and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head. It soon became very clear to KayKay that she wasn't going to get any help from even her _boyfriend_. Sighing, she turned her face so Matt could kiss her on the cheek.

"Nuh-uh," Sirius spoke up. "On the lips. That's the only way it'll work."

"You know what? You're enjoying this far too much!" KayKay said with a slight grin at the friendly banter. Still, with a roll of her eyes, she faced Matt.

"Don't worry. I don't bite, and the weirdness isn't contagious," he joked, lightening the mood slightly. KayKay shrugged and nodded her head, clearly showing that she was ready. 

Matt cradled her chin and tilted her head up gently. KayKay closed her eyes as he drew closer and gave her a very short kiss. It didn't carry any emotion of longing, it just a friendly kiss, but KayKay blushed all the same when they pulled apart and everyone clapped.

"Okay, different activity!" KayKay yelled over them, waving her arms in attempt to _get them to shut up._

"Oh, come on KayKay, it's part of the season!" Harry said with a laugh. "Be a sport."

"I am _not_ talking to you," KayKay said, turning away so her amusement at the look of shock on Harry's face wouldn't be apparent.

"KayKay? KayKay—oh, come on!" he said when KayKay didn't reply. He probably thought she was giving him the cold shoulder, but really she was trying not to laugh.

"Hey! What are you doing?" KayKay asked as Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her with him.

"I thought you weren't talking to me." He said with a smirk, leading her under the mistletoe.

KayKay laughed finally as Harry put an arm around her waist, dipped her, and gave her kiss to compensate for her embarrassment.

"Better?" he asked when the kiss had ended.

"Yes."

"Oh, you two are sooo _cute_ together!" Matt exclaimed, jumping and clapping his hands.

"Oh my gosh, Matt! I figured it out!" KayKay said in feigned shock, "You're gay!"

"Like, so totally _duh_!" He giggled, coughed, and then continued. "You guys, like _have_ to let me know once you get engaged!"

"That's a big step," KayKay said, playing along.

"I wasn't aware we were _that_ serious." Harry agreed. 

"Oh, of course you are!" Matt exclaimed, studying his fingernails.

"Oh, if you say so then." Harry said seriously. He took KayKay's right hand in both of his and got down on one knee. "Miss KayKay, will you do myself and this gay cowboy the great honor of marrying me?"

"Oh, Harry darling, if the gay cowboy commands it, then I suppose I must!" she put the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically. 

"Yay! This is so happy! Ooh, we need to get some Little Debbie's Snacks to celebrate!" Matt continued with his funny act. He laughed and said "Little Debbie. Hee hee, it makes me feel giddy all over! Oh, this is so exciting! Who's going to be your maid of honor?"

He pointed to himself and mouthed "Me".

"Oh, but it shall be so hard to choose!" KayKay said. "I'll have to pick Mo."

"Moe? Who's Moe?"

KayKay pointed to the girls and Matt as she counted off, "Eeny, meeny, miney, mo!"

"Yay!" Matt said, jumping up and down and clapping again. "I'm thinking . . . Mauve. Or Faded Salmon. What do you think?"

By this point, everyone in the room was laughing hysterically, with the exception of Harry, who was digging in his robe pockets.

"Harry, what are you looking . . ." KayKay froze when Harry pulled a small box out of his robes. It was black velvet tied with a red ribbon, and Harry held out for her to take, saying, "Merry Christmas."

"H-Harry . . . w-what . . .?"

Everyone had stopped laughing now and were watching as KayKay slowly took the box and untied the ribbon.

"It's . . . a promise ring," Harry explained as KayKay opened the box and gasped. "Because someday . . . you know, if we 're still together . . . and if we still love each other as much as we do now . . . and if you do me the honor . . . maybe . . . someday . . ."

KayKay's hand shook as she looked at the ring inside. It was a simple silver band, but on the outside were engraved Latin words . . . _"Iuro a stella"_ . . .

" 'Swear by the stars' " KayKay whispered, looking at it. She was no longer aware of the audience watching she and Harry as she crouched down so they'd be at the same eye-level.

"Yes. On your first day back, remember I . . . I swore by every star that . . ."

" . . . That Forever would come." KayKay finished, still looking at the ring. "Harry, I . . ."

"You don't have to. If you don't want keep the ring—"

"Harry, shhh. Of _course_ I want to keep it. I wouldn't refuse it for anything." KayKay's voice was almost at a whisper.

Harry grinned with such joy and relief that it melted KayKay's heart. "May I . . .?"

"Of course!" KayKay replied, holding out her left hand as Harry slid the ring onto her ring finger. The rest of the room's occupants burst into applause, and KayKay and Harry jumped, having forgotten about them. Harry laughed self-consciously as he stood up, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"I had planned on a somewhat . . . different setting, but the time seemed appropriate." Harry apologized with a crooked grin.

"Jeez Harry, I didn't mean it seriously," Matt said, losing the gay act and walking over to them, "But congratulations, man!" he shook hands with Harry and gave KayKay a hug.

"Matt, we're not engaged." KayKay laughed. "Just . . . um . . . it's like the step wearing a guy's class ring and moving in together or something."

"But you'll let me know if you ever _are_ engaged?"

"Yes Matt."

"Even if I'm not invited to the wedding?"

"Yes Matt."

"But I would be, wouldn't I?"

"_Yes, Matt!_"

"Okay, just checking." He laughed.

"Well, a gift like that makes any others nearly obsolete," Remus said, crossing the room and putting a hand on KayKay's shoulder, "but I do have one more gift for you. Why don't you take a peek into your room?" He nodded towards the porch.

Followed by everyone, KayKay walked to her room. Sitting on the floor next to the miniature Christmas tree she'd set up was a large box with shiny green wrapping paper and a large red bow. Looking again over her shoulder, all of her fellow adolescents looked curious, while Sirius and Remus looked excited.

KayKay kneeled down and easily pulled the cover off, gasping in surprise and delight when she saw what was inside.

"Puppy!" 

__

"You know what I want for Christmas, Uncle Remmy? More than anything else in whole wide world?"

"No I don't, but I can bet that you'll tell me, Kayleigh!"

"I wanna' puppy. Like this one." The just-barely-seven KayKay held up her stuffed toy of a Golden Retriever. "I really, really _want one. I'd name it Casey." She looked up at her uncle's face, squirming a bit in his lap. "D'you think Santa's gonna' bring me one? I musta' wrotten a million billion letters."_

"Three" her older sister contradicted from the other side of the room.

"Nuh-uh!" KayKay said, "I wrote him one every day since K-Mart started selling those Christmas things."

"Which means she's been sending them since September," she heard her mother whisper to her uncle as she walked past with a wreath for the door.

"Do ya' think I'll get a puppy from Santa?" KayKay asked him again.

"I'm sure of it, Kayleigh"

The small doggy of soft golden fluff wagged her tail and stood on her hind legs, using the top edge of the box as a brace for her front paws. As KayKay lifted her out, the puppy wriggled, trying to lick her nose.

"Casey" KayKay whispered as she read the puppy's identification tags. "Oh Remus, thank you!"

"Now all I need is a Santa hat, right?" he asked as KayKay hugged him ecstatically.

Everyone else was bewildered.

KayKay nuzzled the sweet puppy. "Remus, can she come to Hogwarts with me? Please? Please, please, pleeease?"

"I don't see why not." He answered with a shrug.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" KayKay paused a moment, then added another for good measure, "Thank you!"

Chad bent down and put the red bow from the box onto Casey's collar, then pulled a tennis ball out of his pocket and threw it for her. Everyone laughed as the puppy tore off after it, paws slipping against the wooden floor.

KayKay had been right. It _was_ the best Christmas ever . . . well, for _now._

* * * * *

"Bye! Thanks you guys, for _everything_."

"It was a great way to spend Christmas. Much more entertaining than staring at the blue walls of our dorm." Chad said, stepping near the fireplace in preparation to Floo.

"Don't complain, our dorm is orange" Matt said, shuddering. "It's everywhere. Absolutely sickening."

"Oh, Matt, don't forget your hat." KayKay stopped, then snorted. "Matt, hat. I'm the next Dr. Seuss." She held it out for him, but he shook his head.

"Nah" he replied, pretending to be gay again, "you can keep it. It doesn't match my ensemble." He smoothed out his shirt, then looked at Chad with a smile. "Hey, Handsome"

Chad punched his shoulder. "Now you're getting _too_ gay. Let up a bit."

"Why does it sound like you're his coach?" KayKay asked, not fully wanting to know.

"Because Mellie Dorin has tagged him as her next victim."

"Ohhh!" Megan and KayKay winced at the same time.

Mellie Dorin was the Seventh Year Hisidance girl who had stalked, dated, and dumped the most guys at Escondito. She flirty to the point where despite her drop-dead-gorgeous-ness, quite a few guys were turned off by her. No guy she'd set her sights on had figured out a way to deter her from her goal, and they eventually gave in just so she'd dump them and leave them alone.

"You poor thing," Megan sympathized. "I know exactly how you feel."

"You do?" Chad asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well . . . no, I guess I don't, but . . ."

"Maybe someone should teach her a lesson. Maybe someone _else_ should follow her everywhere then dump her." KayKay said slowly.

"But who?" Matt asked. "Only a few guys haven't been subject to her insane fits of desire, and practically all of them would never do it."

"Hmmm, so we need someone we _know_ who hasn't been attained by Mellie yet." Megan said. Everyone was still for a moment and then, slowly, they all turned their heads and looked at Chad.

"What? Why me? Hey! You people should leave me out of your crazy schemes! I . . . I think it's time that I go back to Escondito."

Chad stepped into the flames and made his escape.

"Hey Chad, wait!" Harry yelled after him. "Too late," he sighed. "Well, to all of you guys, Sirius suggested having everyone over to my home tomorrow. If you have swimsuits you might as well bring them—"

"You have a _pool_?!" KayKay exclaimed. "I'm so there! Rock!"

"Don't worry, I'll tell Chad," Matt said, stepping into the flames. "Bye guys! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" KayKay and Megan said, while Hermione and Harry said, "Happy Christmas!"

Hermione and Megan departed by Floo shortly after, and Harry and Sirius left by way of the front door.

"Thank you sooo much, Uncle Remmy!" KayKay said, hugging Remus. "It was _definitely_ the best Christmas ever!"

"I'm glad you liked it," he said softly, hugging her back. He laughed and said, "Now, off to bed, young lady. It's late, and you have another rendezvous with your friends tomorrow."

KayKay nodded, and picked up Casey from where she was asleep on the rug by the fire.

"Come on, sweetie." She said to the little ball of fluff. "Time to sleep . . . well, time for _more_ sleep, in your case."

She walked into her room just in time to catch a glimpse of a snowy owl swoop out of the window.

"Wow, he sure was patient. Must've sent Hedwig out the moment he got home," she murmured to no one in particular. She set Casey down in her doggie basket and crossed the room to shut the open window.

__

Must not have latched it when I aired the house of the burnt cookies. Probably didn't take more than a few beak taps to open it.

KayKay flicked on a few more lights so she could read the letter at the same time that Remus was turning off those in the living room and going upstairs. The envelope was sitting on her hammock. "KayKay" was all that was written on it. Flipping it over, KayKay slit the seal and dropped the letter with a gasp as the whole room plunged into darkness, except for the envelope, which was glowing a sinister green.

A glowing green snake of smoke erupted from the letter on the floor with a shower of orange sparks and reared it's head, hissing wildly. KayKay took a few involuntary steps back as it swayed it's head in the air, flicking it's long forked tongue.

It had horrible eyes of red fire, and ebony fangs at least six inches long. It was huge, at least as big around as KayKay was, and quite easily stronger. The strangest thing was that it was supported by air, rather than slithering on the ground.

This made it, if anything, even worse.

KayKay flinched as it circled around her once before going back to where it had been. The snake's tail brushed against her skin as it passed, burning her right arm, but KayKay barely noticed the pain before the snake hissed again and began to slither through the air, leaving squiggly letters of hazy smoke.

" 'CATCH'," KayKay read, " 'ME . . . IF . . . YOU . . .' " Her breath caught in her throat. " 'Catch me if you can' " she whispered, clapping a hand to her mouth in horror. It was just like her dream! But wait . . . did that mean . . .?

The snake, done with it's message, turned upon KayKay and charged towards her, forcing her back to attention. She threw her left arm, the good arm, up in front of her face to protect herself and she clenched her eyes shut in terror when the snake was only a foot away. If she'd had time to shriek, she would've. KayKay braced herself for a burning pain. Or worse.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Hi KayKay! Come on in, everyone else is already here." Harry said, opening the door wide the next morning when KayKay came.

"Thanks Harry," she smiled, but Harry noticed that she looked tired. Her face was pale and washed out, and when she smiled, it didn't reach her eyes like it normally did. But again, they had been up late the night before at her Christmas party. That was probably what it was.

"Come on, Casey." KayKay said, tapping the side of her leg and beckoning her puppy to follow her. Harry noticed when he looked at her hand hat she was still wearing the ring he gave her.

Smiling to himself, Harry closed the door behind her and led the way down to the pool, where the sounds of splashing and laughing could be heard.

He had decorated the room a bit for Christmas . . . well, if a few strings of lights and Christmas music could be called decorating. 

He laughed as Megan and Hermione kicked water at each other from where they were seated on the edge of the pool, growing increasingly more and more violent until Megan decided she'd have enough and just got Hermione wet the easy way—by shoving her in. Hermione grabbed Megan's arm on the way in and pulled her with.

"Bon-ZAIII!" Matt hollered, doing a cannonball into the water and getting the girls even wetter. Chad dove into the deep end of the pool, and Harry slid into he shallow end. Ron was already in the water, sitting on the steps at the shallow end of the pool.

Although her had never seen her go swimming before, Harry expected KayKay to do a fancy dive of some sort, as was normally her style. He was surprised, then, when she didn't even get in, just dangled her legs in the water from the side. She didn't even take her long-sleeved shirt off from over her red swimsuit.

"Come on, KayKay, the water is fabulous!" Megan urged. KayKay simply shook her head politely and coaxed Casey over to her, letting the puppy sit on her lap.

"Come on, KayKay, I told you already that Matt's craziness isn't contagious," Chad said. KayKay just shook her head again.

"KayKay, is something wrong?" Harry asked, paddling over to her. "I thought by your enthusiasm last night that you'd be the first one in."

KayKay bit her lip and shook her head again, looking down at Casey who had already fallen asleep.

"I'm fine," she said softly, stroking Casey's soft fur.

"Wow, if you looked at me when you said that, it would almost be convincing," Harry said sarcastically. KayKay looked up, slowly and deliberately.

"I'm fine." She repeated. She looked down at the puppy on her lap again and changed the subject conspicuously.

"So, how was your . . . um . . . sleep? Any . . . cool dreams?"

Harry gave her an "Oh-please-you-really-think-I'm-going-to-buy-that?" look. "KayKay, _what's wrong?_"

"Nothing Harry!" KayKay protested. "I told you I was fine. I just don't feel like swimming, is all."

"If you say so . . ."

"I do say so." She told him assertively. "Now, why don't you guys play . . . Marco Polo, or something? Don't let me spoil your fun." She smiled, "I'm good."

"Well . . ." he said slowly, still not believing her, "all right . . ."

Women.

* * * * *

"Pizza! _Yes!_ Hogwarts should serve this stuff fur lunch. Haven't had it since August!" Megan exclaimed, grabbing a slice loaded with gooey cheese and biting into it. "Mmmm, heavenly."

"Hey Chad, didn't anyone ever tell you not to swim on a full stomach?" KayKay yelled before plucking another pepperoni off of her slice of pizza and popping it into her mouth.

"No," he retorted, bouncing once or twice on the diving board. "And I'm not swimming yet. I'm waiting until the diving queen herself is ready to go against me. This time, I'm going to beat you!"

"Hmmm, that's great, where is this diving queen?" 

"Jeez, I wonder, KayKay." 

"Hey, if you're talking about me, I resign. You win. Clap, clap, clap, insert cheesy prize announcement here." KayKay said blandly, taking another bite of her pizza.

"You can't just _resign_! What happened to the ever-competitive KayKay Determan?" Chad asked.

"She went away. Far, far away." She answered sarcastically.

"But that's not how it works! I can't be the diving champ unless I beat you!" Chad whined, hopping off of the diving board and running over to the edge of the pool where everyone was standing while eating lunch. 

He slipped a bit on the floor and stumbled, knocking into Ron. Ron, who was right up to the edge of the pool, waved his arms wildly to avoid falling in, but failed, causing a loud splash and even louder laughter.

Looking over, Harry realized KayKay was the only one not laughing as Ron slapped the water, pedaling his legs.

"KayKay, what are you doing?" he asked in bewilderment as she threw down her pizza and pulled her shirt off from over her suit in one smooth motion. Without pausing a moment to reply, KayKay dove into the water after Ron. It was then that Harry and the rest of the group realized Ron wasn't joking around.

KayKay ducked underwater and pulled Ron up by wrapping one arm around his waist and using the other to paddle pack to the edge of the large pool. Chad and Matt helped pull him out as KayKay hoisted herself over the edge and knelt next to Ron.

"Lay him flat on his back," she advised as Ron began to sputter and cough water out of his lungs. Harry sagged with relief when he sat up and stopped coughing.

"I'm sorry, Man" Chad said, "I didn't know . . ."

"Yeah, it's not something one generally advertises to the public," Ron said, breathing deeply. He looked over at KayKay. "Thanks"

"Don't mention it," she replied, panting a bit. Ron looked down at her arm.

"Hey, what happened?"

KayKay clutched her left arm (odd, since it was the other one that Ron was indicating) and stretched to grab her shirt, but Harry stopped her, taking hold of her wrist and looking at her right arm. It looked horribly burned, a second-degree at least. His head snapped up to KayKay.

"Oh, so _this_ is what 'fine' means. Haven't you had anyone look at it?"

"Yes, Harry," she said, gently trying to pull her arm away. "I'm not as stupid as a lot of people must think I am."

"So, Remus knows?"

"Um . . . no" KayKay looked uncomfortable.

"So who did you have check it?" Harry pressed, "And how did you get it?"

"It was checked by the magical medical knowledge of me, myself, and I. Like I said, don't worry! I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt much anymore."

"It still hurts?"

"Harry, _please_" she pulled her arm away. "Just drop it. I'm a big girl, okay? I tie my own shoes and everything."

She pulled her shirt on, gingerly with her burned arm, but before she got her left arm into the sleeve, Harry saw something that made his heart skip a beat.

KayKay had just finished pulling the shirt over her head when Harry grabbed her uninjured arm and pushed the sleeve up roughly.

"Harry, what are you doing?!" KayKay exclaimed in panic, "Stop it!"

She tried to pull her arm away, but Harry held fast, pushing the sleeve up the rest of the way and staring at her arm in disbelief.

It was just like on the victims; she had a tattoo of snakes shaped to form words, except these ran all the way up her arm and said, "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN".

Disbelief was the first thing Harry felt. Then came shock, denial, and lastly, anger.

"When were you going to tell any of us about this?" He demanded, not aware that everyone else had stepped away from the two, not wanting to get involved in their fight.

"I wasn't—aware—that I—needed to!" KayKay retorted, clenching her teeth as she tried to pull her arm away.

"This isn't just about you anymore! This is about—"

"When did I _ever_ say this was all about me? Harry, let me go and stop treating me like the enemy!"

__

But what if you are? he thought,_ All of this started the day you came back. I know you wouldn't do it on purpose . . . but we agreed that whoever it is could be controlled, and last time there was an Heir, it was one of our own . . ._

"I mean it, Harry." She growled, still trying to get loose. "Let go of me and _think_ about what you're saying! Or better, say what you're thinking. You're implying the same thing either way, and I _know_ that you know it isn't true."

She was furious. Harry could almost _feel_ the anger lashing out at him, set and ready to burn him if he didn't start treating her like who she was; one of the good guys.

"Sorry," he said softly, letting go of her wrist, "I guess I got a bit carried away."

"A 'bit'? Any further and you'd be in China already," she said with a scowl, rolling her sleeve down again.

"But KayKay, won't you just tell me—"

"Later. I'm going to go home until I'm cooled down to the point at which I no longer want to punch somebody's lights out." She answered, standing up and putting her jeans on over her wet swimsuit. "Come on, Casey."

She picked up her puppy tenderly. Right when the door clicked shut behind her, everyone looked at Harry. There was uncomfortable silence until Ron asked out of the blue, "So is she a swimming teacher or something over the summer?"

"A lifeguard for the YMCA." Megan said.

"Oh," Ron nodded, "good thing."

"Yes," she agreed. "It comes in handy."

Harry rolled his eyes and got up, following after KayKay with a sigh.

"Continue, I'll be back in a minute." He said to everyone as he pushed the door open and jogged after the wet footprints KayKay had left behind. He caught up to her quickly since she was wandering a bit, looking for the door.

"KayKay!" He touched her shoulder and steered her back the way they'd come. "Come on, don't be like this. I know I was a jerk back there, it was just . . . I panicked." He continued slowly, picking his words carefully so she'd be convinced to stay and talk. "I just can't stand the thought of you being hurt."

She batted his hand away, but sagged with a sigh.

"I'm just . . . so _sick_ of explaining things. Shouldn't there be a way we can somehow . . . read each other's minds?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? Come on, let's go sit in the library or something. This definitely has something to do with the Heir."

* * * * *

"I just feel so . . . contaminated now. I mean, it feels like I'm connected to the Heir now, like I'm suddenly their ally. It's just . . ." KayKay sighed. "I tried everything. Nothing got rid of it! It must be a spell they _invented_."

"Ingenious" Harry said. When KayKay looked him oddly, he explained. "You can't trace a spell that you don't know the name of. If they hadn't made one up, they could've been traced. And . . ."

"And _that's_ why Madame Pomfrey didn't recognize the curse on the victims!" KayKay finished. "But what can we do about it? I feel so . . . vulnerable, not being in control of the situation. We're just like everyone else."

"We always _were_ like everyone else. Hey," Harry said when KayKay snorted, "why are you laughing?"

"Sorry Harry, but you've _never_ been like everyone else. You're always the 'gallant hero'," she laughed harder.

"Oh, shove off," he said. "Let's go back to the others."

"Yes," KayKay agreed, "but first, can I get some more aloe for my burn? Ever since it hit that chlorine it's been hurting something fierce."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you, **Fiery, **for the review!!!You were very right . . . I love reviews. Rock.

And you'll notice I found a way to respond *sticks out tongue at Fiery* 

**__**

35 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!! *smiles ecstatically* I told you I was crazy about Christmas. As I speak I am decorating a mini-Christmas tree that I'll try to fit into my locker at school, LOL. That's me all over! Don't y'all love Christmas???

Ummm . . . besides that . . . 

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!

Please???


	13. The Plot Thickens

__

*~* Chapter Thirteen: The Plot Thickens *~*

"We join our heroes, who of course have _always_ been like everybody else, as they ride the Hogwarts Express back to their school. And what a beautiful day it is! The snow is coming down violently outside, the wind is making the train rock, and ice on the tracks has made us almost derail five times thus far! Oh, hold that number, I feel six coming on!"

The train pitched to the side, making trunks slide from overhead racks and also making everyone fall to one side of the compartment.

"Oh, and KayKay almost takes an owl cage to the head! But one moment, where is the little puppy Casey?"

Shoving the owl cage away as the train magicked back onto the tracks again, KayKay stood up.

"Don't worry, KayKay. I've got her." Ron said, shoving a trunk away from his knees and producing Casey from where she'd been sheltered against his chest. 

"Oh, _thank you_!" KayKay gushed, her panic melting away. "I don't know what I'd do . . ."

"Hey, I owe you." He said, shoving the trunks towards the back of the compartment so they wouldn't fall again. "You did—"

"And the valiant Ron has rescued the puppy! Well done, Lad! And now for a word from our sponsors: Do you enjoy experimental eating?"

"Megan, please, you've been doing this all day." KayKay groaned, massaging her temples as if to banish a headache.

Megan continued, oblivious. "Then Mr. Norm's Community Cafeteria is the place for you! This week's features include Peanut Butter and Jelly cookies and Mashed potatoes with gravy-honey-orange juice-barbecue sauce! Free Pepto Bismal included!"

"Megan . . ." KayKay growled, partly from annoyance and partly from a stab of pain that shot through her tattooed arm.

"Now let's go to our eye-in-the-sky, Miss Melody Broomstick, for a traffic report. Expect delays as you approach Hogsmeade, where a congregation of—yikes!"

Megan jumped away as KayKay lunged at her, set to kill. This would normally be greeted by shock from the rest of the gang, but not this time. Megan _had_ been rambling in a radio voice for nearly two hours by now, and KayKay finally decided it was time to tear out a few vocal chords. Or to get a large roll of duct tape.

"A now for a song, while I get some air. Remember, KTRT is the station of choice. To Merlin, and beyond!" Megan said as fast as she could, wiggling out of KayKay's grasp and bolting for the door while waving her wand to make the song "Let it Snow" fill the air.

KayKay flopped back into her chair.

"That girl is _so_] hyper today . . . what did you give her for breakfast Hermione, jet fuel?"

"Beats me why she's mad as a March Hare today. We only had muffins." Hermione said.

"I hope she quits it soon," Harry said. "It's driving me up the _wall_."

"I wonder how long she'll leave us alone for." Ron said.

"I don't care, so long as she doesn't come in and say 'We're back folks, and that was "Let it Snow". Indeed it _is_ snowing and, speaking of which, I think we're about to derail again . . .' Ugh."

"Marvelous radio voice you have, KayKay." Hermione said.

"Wow, thanks." She replied sarcastically. "My life ambition."

"Guys!" Megan popped her head in the door. KayKay looked at her wearily, prepared for another radio-host announcement. Imagine her shock then, at Megan's serious countenance and frightened eyes. 

"What? What is it?" KayKay asked, immediately getting to her feet.

"Another attack . . ." the words were barely out of Megan's mouth before KayKay was brushing past her and everyone else was jumping up.

KayKay stumbled as she ran down the corridor of the rocking train. No doubt about it, the blizzard was getting worse. The train pitched wildly and she slammed into the wall, right against her burned arm, but she didn't hesitate to push herself back up and continue down the corridor.

"Oh God . . ." she muttered when she and the others reached the victim.

"Oh no . . ." Harry said quietly, looking at the girl.

"Dawn . . ." Ron whispered. "This is bad . . ."

Dawn Megowin was sprawled on the floor, an arm thrown across he face as if she'd been trying to protect herself from something. KayKay knelt down and nudged it aside.

KayKay clenched her teeth and grabbed her arm in pain upon sight of the word "DARK" tattooed on her housemate's temple.

"Oh God . . ." she said again, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to push herself away from the body. The next thing that happened was even more frightening . . . she actually _saw_ it. She saw Dawn's eyes widening with fear and trying to ward something away with her hands. But . . . she couldn't see _what!_ It was right at the edge of her vision, like if she could turn her head to see it she'd be able to glimpse the attacker.

"No . . . _no!_" KayKay shouted with a sob, much to the surprise of everyone else.

"KayKay! KayKay, what is it? KayKay, open your eyes!" Megan pleased, shaking her gently by the shoulders.

"No!" KayKay shook her head violently, "No, no, no! I can't see him! I need to see him!"

"KayKay . . . who?"

"Him! I can see . . . but I can't see _him_, and I need to, I could . . . I need to . . ." she thrashed, trying to get Megan to take her hands off of her shoulders.

"Let go," Harry advised Megan quietly. KayKay could hear him crouch next to her, but she still had to look! She still had to see! If only . . . if only she could see it from a different perspective . . .

"KayKay? What is it? Who are trying to see?" he asked gently.

"Him!" she insisted, so lost that she couldn't understand why Harry wouldn't know. "Him! But . . . But I can't . . ." she choked back another sob, and she could feel Harry wiping away tears from her face.

"Tell us, KayKay. Tell us who it is." He said again, softer.

"I . . . I don't know! I don't know . . ." she dropped her head to where she knew Harry's shoulder was, and she could feel him help her up, one arm around her waist to support her, one brushing along the wall so they wouldn't stumble. KayKay wasn't sure if she walked the way back to the compartment or if Harry carried her, but when they got there, Harry helped her into a chair and sat next to her, holding her and speaking soothingly until she calmed down enough to open her eyes.

"I saw . . . _her_." KayKay said as she blinked to get used to her surroundings. "Dawn. But . . . I couldn't see _him_." She breathed deeply, but a few silent tears still escaped her. "If only I could have, we'd know . . ." she kept hitting her leg with her fist in frustration. "If only . . ."

She sighed and leaned back against Harry, crying again but without any noise. He did what he was so wonderful at doing . . . he didn't speak, just held her the perfect way, that way that said they were in this together and that they'd find a way to handle it.

Yet still . . . if _only_.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Take this Portkey and get with a group of at least five. It will activate within five minutes, Mr. Potter, so I suggest you hurry." Professor McGonagall said, handing Harry a quill and not commenting on KayKay, who had fallen asleep against him. She seemed too frazzled to bother disciplining her students.

She left, already pulling out another Portkey to give to the students in the next compartment. Harry waited a moment, then said, "You guys, I know you've been lurking outside that door for the past fifteen minutes. You can come in, you know.

There was a pause, filled with silence, then Megan, Hermione, and Ron shuffled in sheepishly.

"Are you going to wake her up?" Megan asked, nodding at KayKay. 

"Nah," Harry said. "As long as the Portkey touches her, it doesn't matter if she's sleeping or not. Besides, I think it's better for her this way . . . after what happened . . ."

"We'll need a new Beater," Megan said, unnecessarily. Ron looked at her glumly and nodded.

"It'll be bad, having to have them try out in the snow, but . . . what choice do we have? There'd be no time to train someone within three weeks."

Harry could tell they'd been discussing this a bit already. He looked at his watch and changed the subject.

"Guys, you'd better touch the quill. It's almost time to go."

"Wonder why we're just taking a Portkey the rest of the way . . ."

"Isn't it obvious, Ron?" Hermione said. "This is faster and safer, considering that the Heir is on the train."

"So, we know that whoever did it was home for Holiday!" Ron said.

"Yeah, only one problem Ron." Megan said sarcastically. "Nearly _everyone_ went home for Christmas."

It was true. The train was just as full as it had been on September First, and with them using a Portkey to get back to Hogwarts, they wouldn't be able to tell who the few were that felt safe with what could very well be a psycho-maniac killer on the loose.

"Yeah, that does make it a bit—" Ron stopped abruptly as the Portkey did what it was assigned to do and pulled them away to Hogwarts.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Relax. Try it again. I'll attack on three. One . . . two . . . three!"

Dumbledore shot a curse towards Harry and KayKay. Prepared, KayKay concentrated on raising her half of the shield. Harry would be the one to buy them time by making the curse slow down. The only question was, could he slow it soon enough to raise his half of the shield?

KayKay took a sharp breath as the curse hit her. Apparently not.

"Sorry," Harry said a few moments later, one Dumbledore had done the counter curse. "I'm . . . getting better, at least."

"Yeah," KayKay said, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "Better." She looked at Dumbledore and said, "Maybe we should try to get the shield up before you even shoot it?"

"Perhaps," Dumbledore said. "After all, this is all for your benefit, I'm just a mentor here. Please, take over anytime you wish."

"All right, Harry?"

"Hey, whatever works." He said, shrugging. "Let's do this."

KayKay nodded and let Harry take her hands.

"Okay, on the count of three. One . . . two . . ." she took a deep breath, "three!"

It was harder without a curse being shot to motivate them, but KayKay focused all her thoughts onto giving someone who wanted to hurt them what they deserved. She wondered, in passing, if Harry had his part up . . .

__

Okay, can't think, must concentrate, need to protect, no protection is him, must retaliate, do I ever retaliate in real life when I shouldn't? What happens if I have this up and a person tries to help me, won't it just rebound on them? What then? Or, what if they have a different shield up and if that, what then? Would it bounce back and forth? And if that, what then? Where would it end? Would someone eventually step between us and get hit? Oh, oh, getting off track again . . . okay, okay, I got it, retaliate. Attack. You are the Alpha Wolf. Alpha Wolf? Sounds like a snowmobile . . . hey, that would be fun right now . . . No! Need to concentrate. Attack. Attack. But really, Alpha Wolf? Where did that _come from? Oh! He got it!_

KayKay felt a tingle in her hands that meant that her power was connecting with Harry's. Awesome, they finally got the shield!

"Oh, so _that's_ how it feels to raise it . . ." Harry commented in a perfect idiot tone. KayKay tried to keep her composure . . . really, she tried! It didn't work, of course.

She burst out laughing. "Oh Harry, that was great. Like the way you just . . . " she tried to breathe. "No, really, it was . . . okay it wasn't that funny, but you know those times when you . . ." She took another deep breath but burst out laughing again. "When you have nothing to laugh at but can't . . . can't . . . Oy!"

She gave up on even trying and flopped into a chair, laughing hysterically for no reason at all.

"No really," she said, "I shouldn't . . . it wasn't funny, but I just . . . you know, when you can't stop laughing?" she said a few moments later when she appeared to be under control. "You know . . .?" 

Harry stared at her blankly and she began to laugh again. Harry, probably sick of it, took one of her hands and said, "Calm down, KayKay."

And it was the strangest thing! She _did_ calm down . . . she probably wouldn't have been able to refuse.

__

Okay, that was definitely at the top of my "Weird Things" list . . . she thought numbly, standing up.

"Let's try it again without a curse, and then with." She said, getting back to business immediately. Both she and Harry looked confused.

__

Very strange . . .

* * * * *

"Good morning, Hogwarts, and Happy Eight O'clock! We're with the KTRT Morning Show, and this is your wake up call. Yes NEWT Potions students, this means you! Don't forget your early morning exam! Remember, last class of the month means a nice, big, juicy, test, and how better to prepare than with a hearty breakfast from Mr. Norm's Community Cafeteria? Mr. Norm says that experimental eating should be a way of life, not just a dare, which explains why I don't eat at the place, I just advertise it. On the weather today—"

"Shut up" KayKay groaned, throwing her pillow at Megan.

" . . . Expect large, fluffy projectiles!" Megan finished, catching it with ease. "And I don't mean the cold stuff, folks! Also watch for ominous clouds gathering in—"

"I said, shut up!" KayKay yelled, covering her head with her blankets.

"Oh, and we have some grouches this morning! Tick, tock, time's ticking!" Megan continued in her annoying radio voice.

"You worry too much," KayKay mumbled.

"And horoscopes for the day! You don't worry at all! Which explains why I care more than you do that you'll be . . . late for Potions, for example?"

"I'm _what?_" KayKay flew out of bed, grabbing clothes as fast as she could, "See, if you woke me normally, I'd take you more seriously!"

"And in sports today! Determan takes the challenge course . . . ooh, nice vault over the bed there, and to her trunk in record time! Boy, that's gonna' make a mess. Definitely setting the standard for speed, but who knows what she might stumble across today?"

"No time for your—OUCH! Stupid burn." KayKay muttered as pain shot through her left arm.

"But I thought the burn was on your—"

"No time, no time! Bye Megan! Feed Casey for me!" KayKay yelled over her shoulder as she ran down the stairs.

"And she's off! Well, let's check out the traffic this morning! Expect traffic approaching the Great Hall, where . . ."

Megan's voice faded out as KayKay reached the foot of the stairs and raced across the Common Room. If she was late, she was toast!

She decided she'd have to skip breakfast. Hanging a sharp left, KayKay continued running, not aware that she was about to crash headlong into someone else.

"Watch where you're going, Determan! Come on, classes were cancelled, you gotta' go to the Great Hall."

KayKay stood up, taking the hand Madison offered her.

"Why?"

"Like I know. We were only told—"

"Attention students! Please go to the Great Hall immediately. Anyone not in the Great Hall within ten minutes shall receive detention." Professor McGonagall said with an amplified voice. "I repeat . . ."

"Like I said." Madison continued. "If it means no Potions Class, I don't ask questions. Who wants to sit through that? Besides, it was probably another stupid attack . . . Now, excuse you." Madison brushed past and KayKay looked after her for a minute.

"There you are! Come on, let's get to the Great Hall so we can find out what this is all about." Harry said, surprising KayKay.

"Oh . . . yeah. Probably another attack . . ." KayKay said, allowing Harry to take her hand and pull her along with the crowd. "I can't believe . . . why haven't they caught the Heir yet? You'd think . . ."

"Yeah, you would. Voldemort must have contacts inside the ministry if they haven't come to our aid yet. Then again, I doubt they'd have much time for us anyhow, since they have the rest of the Wizarding world to handle . . ."

"Harry, KayKay, you need to come with me," Dumbledore said, coming seemingly out of nowhere.

The pair looked at each other nervously, then nodded, turning and following Dumbledore through the crowd of people and up to his office.

"Now, I am certain that the both of you . . . as well as Ron, Hermione, and Megan . . . have been doing your own detective work since the attacks first started. So, why don't you both have a seat? I'm sure," he continued, after they both found their chairs, "that you are aware that the attacker is, or is at least posing as, the Heir of Voldemort." They nodded. "By the markings on their faces, I'm sure. Now, I must ask you two to do something . . . somewhat unorthodox, something experimental. I need the both of you to work on your own with harnessing your powers, seeing what you can do besides casting a shield of protection. Perhaps, KayKay, you can get your Caranax to work with you . . . from what I recall, you said she was helpful in instruction while you were facing Voldemort last year."

"Okay, Professor Dumbledore." KayKay said, nodding with Harry.

"Also," the headmaster continued, "I would like you two to stick together as much as possible . . . safety in numbers, you know, especially where you're concerned. This means at mealtimes, between classes, even at detentions. I shall speak to any teachers this may concern. Furthermore . . . KayKay, I would like you to try out for Gryffindor's Quidditch team."

KayKay, who had still been nodding, thinking _Hey, no problem, this isn't a big deal, we're normally together anyhow,_ froze.

"Quidditch?" she repeated. "As in, on broomsticks?" 

Her voice went considerably higher, and she cleared her throat, repeating it normally.

"I mean, like on broomsticks?" She could tell she was still blushing a bit.

"Yes, Quidditch _is_ generally played on broomstick." Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm certain you are in fine athletic shape for Quidditch, and there is a spot open."

"You don't get it, Professor Dumbledore. I'm . . . I mean, I don't like . . ."

"Flying? If fear is the only thing standing in your way, then a Confidence Charm should handle it." 

KayKay still hesitated. Dumbledore leaned across his desk.

"I have complete confidence in you, KayKay. I wouldn't request you to take on this challenge if I didn't."

__

Do it. A voice urged in her head. _Come on, Alpha Wolf! Who cares what Alpha Wolf means, being a Beater for Gryffindor would be a prime opportunity to get Malfoy all bloodied up. Besides, you're tough. You can handle this. What's a little fear, anyhow? Some on . . . do it . . . say it . . ._

She looked at Dumbledore and sighed. "All right. I'll do it."

"Excellent. Harry, would you begin to instruct her?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, of course! Right away!"

__

Look at him . . . so excited . . .

"You may use the West Wing on the Third Floor. I'll get some ghosts up there to patrol, but I'm sure you'll be fine for the time being. Please though, don't spend more than an hour. You may get your broomstick, I'll see to it that any equipment you'll need is up there." Dumbledore said, dismissing them.

"Come on, KayKay, I think Megan will let you borrow her broomstick." Harry said, standing up.

"One sec," she told him. "Professor, what about this student? Who was it? What did the tattoo say?"

Dumbledore looked at her gravely and sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"The tattoo said 'THE'," he answered.

"And . . . who was it?"

There was a long silence before Dumbledore answered.

"A First-Year Gryffindor . . . Jaymi Krysallis."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Okay, so now we have . . . six victims, right?" KayKay asked, looking around the table at her friends.

"Yes, six," Hermione said, consulting a paper. "Four girls, two boys. Two of the victims were from Slytherin, one from Ravenclaw, one from Hufflepuff, and two from Gryffindor. Plus KayKay's threat. All of them were first years, aside from Dawn, who was a Second Year."

Harry picked up here. "In order, the messages were, 'ONE'S', 'I'M', 'HEIR', 'COME', 'DARK', and 'THE', not to mention KayKay's full one, which was 'CATCH ME IF YOU CAN',"

They were, once again, sitting at a table in the Three Broomsticks, sipping drinks and puzzling over the evidence they had so far.

"The messages make the most sense saying something like, 'I'm the Dark One's Heir. Come.' " Ron said slowly. "But that last part throws me. 'Come'? Come where? Do what? Whoever is the Heir has done things really strangely."

"Not to mention that all the spells are totally original!" KayKay said, brandishing her straw to emphasize her point and thus splattering some of her tropical drink on the table. "Oops."

"But who are our primary suspects?" Ron asked.

"Well, Madison for sure." KayKay said immediately. "Remember how—"

"You know, I'm really not certain it's her," Harry interrupted quickly. KayKay looked at him incredulously.

"You don't? Well why not?! You were the first one to offer her name last time!"

"Think about it. Ever since these attacks have begun, she's been far less threatening towards you . . . and that letter you got was definitely a threat."

"She's been acting nicer _gradually._" KayKay countered. "_I_ think she's trying to do exactly what she's doing to you, Harry . . . throw us off her tracks. Lighten suspicion. See? It's working on you."

"Well, sometimes you need to have more faith in people. Give them the benefit of a doubt." Harry said.

"Harry, she's a Slytherin. Pureblood." KayKay said, as if that was all the evidence needed.

"What does blood have anything to do with it?" Harry asked quickly.

"Harry, I don't mean—"

"Ron and I are full wizard blood. Does that put us on the suspect list?" He accused.

"_No_ Harry, _listen_ to me—"

"Then what are you trying to say?" he demanded, starting to get to his feet.

"The same thing I've been _trying_ to say this whole time." She said in exasperation, grabbing Harry's robe sleeve and pulling him gently back down into his chair. "Voldemort wouldn't choose someone to be his heir unless they were pureblooded. That's the way his head works."

"Oh," Harry said, finally seeing the obvious. "But still, that doesn't mean Madison is certainly the Heir."

"And that's why right now we're going over _suspects_" KayKay said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly."

"Well, should we put Malfoy on that list?" Ron asked, leaning over and watching Hermione write.

"Let's give it up, you guys, there's way too many people." Megan sighed, leaning back in her chair. "We all said that whoever it is might be controlled. That'd put nearly everyone on the list, even the victims. One of them could've feigned their own attack. They'd be able to sneak out and attack other people then."

Everyone stared at her for a minute.

"Well then," Hermione said, "what about a pattern in the attacks? There must be some sort of—"

"Synthesized. Scrutinized. Analyzed. Rejected." KayKay said, slapping her own copy down on the table. "There's absolutely no pattern. As far as we know, these attacks were totally random. Maybe the idiot just saw a kid alone and had at it. It's logical for First Years to wander around alone, assuming they still get lost sometimes. Not surprising, since this castle is always changing. And Dawn . . . she was probably going to visit a friend from another compartment."

"Yes, but . . . why is it that, out of all these kids, only two were found by teachers, as opposed to . . . well . . . one of us? We've been the first people to discover nearly all of them . . . " Harry asked slowly. "That can't be just a coincidence."

"Well, logically it could be, but it's highly unlikely." Hermione said, stowing her things away carefully.

"You guys, am I the only who this strikes as wrong?" Megan asked.

"Megan, I don't think _any_ of us think that what the Heir is doing is _right_" Hermione pointed out.

"I don't mean what the Heir is doing, I mean what we're doing! We're just kids, for God's sake! What is the Ministry doing? The Ministry, with it's Unspeakables, and it's Aurors, and all the other departments that are _supposed_ to be doing things like this! We're kids! Not even old enough to do magic outside of school! But we've seen what Harry has been through! We've seen what KayKay has been through! We've seen what we've _all_ been through, dark times, things most _adults_ haven't even thought of!"

Megan was ranting at an amazing speed, like she'd been thinking on this for quite a while.

"Kids! We're just kids! But we're the ones always doing what the adults are supposed to, because they're so _blind_, so _daft_ that they barely even see it! Why should we be the ones to have to do all of this? My God, _we're just kids!_" 

Everyone was silent as Megan breathed deeply, calming herself after her tirade. They knew she was right. They shouldn't have had to worry about something like this. This wasn't the kind of thing that should be left in kids' hands.

But if they didn't do it . . . who would?

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Who hates Valentine's Day? KayKay hates Valentine's day!" KayKay groaned, rubbing her eyes so they could adjust to the light filtering in through the window.

"Greetings! It is a _beautiful_ Sunday morning, and Saint Valentine's Day besides! Racing around for a last minute gift for your sweetheart? Let this be of some comfort to you—_comfort, my friends, comfort for the traumatized_—sorry, wrong advertisement there, folks! But swoop down to Mr. Norm's community kitchen for free waxy chocolate candies! Yes, love is in the air, and what better day could there be to take that special someone by surprise? You won't believe their faces when they see what was done to—sorry folks, that's _for_—them. Now, to Melody Broomstick for a traffic report this morning . . ."

KayKay let Megan babble on as she got out of bed and searched for her clothes.

" . . . And what with all the distractions this morning, a near-accident is imminent! Doesn't sound good folks, watch that you're not alone in your travels, it may mean you're on the wrong side of the road!"

"That's nice, Megan." KayKay said without interest as she put on a black shirt. "Ouch! That's weird . . ." She looked at her arm, still tarnished with the tattoo. She was probably just imagining things, though . . .

"Well, we can see the spirit of love everywhere! I'll be right back, folks, after I put on a holiday-appropriate song! Remember . . . keep that knob on KTRT, the station of choice. Our broadcasting area now includes Camelot!"

Megan waved her wand and left the Dormitory. KayKay could hear her gallop happily down the stairs.

__

L is for the way you look at me . . . O is for the only one I see . . . V is very, very—

"Oh, shut up," KayKay muttered at the music, opening the door to go get some breakfast from the Great Hall.

She wasn't particularly sure why she hated Valentine's Day so much . . . it wasn't like she was still single. Still, she wasn't fond of a day when people were morally obligated to be extra-sweet to their significant other. It made them feel they didn't have to try as hard on all other 364 days of the year, and that meant that they weren't treating their loved ones the way they normally would, and that meant those loved ones didn't feel as special . . .

Valentine's Day was just the way lazy people showed their affection: once a year.

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't see Sabrina Dawson until the girl ran straight into her and clung to her robes, trembling in fright.

"Sabrina?" KayKay asked her in bewilderment. "Sabrina, what on Earth is the matter?"

"Tried to get me." She said, voice shaking, "He . . . she . . . it tried to get me."

"Who tried to get you, Sabrina? Oh . . ." she said, rolling her eyes, "Has Peeves been—"

"Not Peeves, the one who attacked all the others. They tried to get me."

KayKay blanched.

"Sabrina," she asked seriously, "are you sure? Are you _absolutely positive_ it was the person who attacked the others?"

"It was!" she said, "They came out of the shadows, sent some sort of green smoky thingy at me . . ."

"How did you get away?" KayKay asked.

"Dunno," Sabrina said, starting to shake again. "The smoky thing began to turn back, but then came at me again. I ran then . . ."

"Come on, let's find Professor Dumbledore. He'll know what to do. But Sabrina, you shouldn't travel alone."

"I didn't plan to . . . did you think I wanted to . . . to . . ."

"Of course not," KayKay said soothingly, bending a bit to give Sabrina a hug. "And I'm very glad you're okay."

Because, annoying as she could get, Sabrina had really grown on KayKay.


	14. The Beginning of the End

__

*~* Chapter Fourteen: The Beginning of the End *~*

"Harry . . . you have protection powers . . . does that mean you have power to heal things too?" KayKay asked slowly as they sat facing each other at one of the desks of the Library.

"I don't know." He said honestly. "I've never tried—"

"Let's find out," she said, pulling out her pocketknife and flicking it open all in one smooth motion.

"KayKay, what do you think you're doing? Put that away!" Harry exclaimed angrily, trying to grab it from her.

It had been two weeks since the Valentine's Day incident, and the Heir had remained eerily silent. This, however, gave Harry and KayKay a chance to explore their powers more and also to work on KayKay's Quidditch skills. She was improving quickly, and Harry assured her that, at this rate, Ron wouldn't need _any_ persuasion to place her on the team.

However, right now KayKay was holding her knife out of Harry's reach, and he was becoming quickly frustrated. He hadn't yet forgotten what had happened _last_ time she messed around with her pocketknife.

"Really, Harry, you're being so narrow-minded on all of this! I'll just give myself a tiny cut on my palm, and we'll see what we can do to heal it, okay?"

"_No._ KayKay, give me that right now and stop being stupid! For all we know, the Heir could've done something to this so it'll penetrate deeper or put a curse into your blood as soon as you cut yourself with it!" 

"Hey, do you have any other suggestions on how to see what kind of things we can do?" KayKay snapped. "Dumbledore said—"

"To work together, not to go at ourselves with a knife!" Harry said, standing up and grabbing it from her. "I'm sure there's other things we can try."

He closed the blade as KayKay slouched in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest. Okay, so she was angry at him. So what? He wasn't going to let her cut herself.

"Harry, why do you always have to be so antagonized by the silliest of things?" KayKay asked.

"Maybe because you're always so provocative?" Harry suggested. "Now come on, let's be serious about this."

"I was." KayKay said from behind her book about Godric Gryffindor.

"KayKay . . ." Harry sighed, exasperated.

"What? I'm supposed to be happy when I'm called stupid, suicidal, and provocative?" she snapped, lowering the book just enough for her eyes to show over the top of it.

Harry thought there had to be something better than this. They loved each other, they got along great most of the time, but when they got mad at each other, it was over tiny little things and they made a big deal out of it. Both of them thought the other was overreacting.

Some people said that the fact that they were so loyal and loving, even right after a fight, proved that their relationship was good. All couples fight, they would say.

But Harry just didn't feel the same way.

He looked over as he heard someone set books down on a nearby table. Turns out it was Madison Jacobs.

KayKay must have still been watching him, because she leaned across the table and hissed, "I still can't see why you're always so quick to defend her."

"I don't see why you're always so quick to accuse her." Harry countered, tearing his gaze away from Madison and back to KayKay.

"Okay, you tell me honestly that her suddenly moving here this year, and the Heir suddenly coming into appearance at about the same time isn't suspicious."

"Coincidence" he shrugged. "Her parents moved here. Nothing weird with that."

"Wizard parents who move rather than apparate to commute?"

"Still, nothing to be suspicious of."

"So why did they have her change schools? This is a boarding school; it doesn't matter if they're on a different PLANET. _I_ came here for a year without moving."

"Listen, let's just . . . not argue about this, okay? We've been going in circles about this for ages. Besides, you'll be late for Quidditch tryouts." Harry said, looking at his watch. KayKay checked her own.

"Dang it!" she exclaimed, shoveling her books into her bag. "I need to get down to the Pitch! _Accio Megan's Broomstick!_."

She and Harry hurried into the hall and headed quickly for the Pitch. They were already almost to the front entrance when Megan's broomstick flew up beside KayKay.

"Come on!" she said to Harry, "Let's go!"

She mounted the broomstick, Harry behind her, and they took off. Unlike in November, when Harry had pulled her onto the broomstick, KayKay didn't appear the least bit afraid. The best part of it?

They had never given her the Confidence Charm. She'd gotten over her fear of flying all on her own. She didn't _know_ . . . she still _thought_ Dumbledore had cast the spell . . . but Dumbledore had confided to Harry that any progress she had made was all on her own. And she was definitely ready.

As they met up with the small cluster of Gryffindors trying out for the open position, Harry and KayKay dismounted the broomstick. Harry had to go into the locker room to meet with the rest of the team, but KayKay needed to get in line.

"Hey," Harry said, grabbing her hand gently as she started to walk to the end of the line. KayKay turned around inquisitively, and Harry gave her a quick kiss.

"Good luck." He said with a grin. KayKay smiled back.

"I'll make you proud," she said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

__

I'll make him proud, I'll make him proud, I'll make him proud, KayKay thought desperately as she went down the stairs early the next morning to check the results of Quidditch tryouts.

__

I'll make him proud . . . has it really come to that? I never used to think about having to make him proud of me before . . . is our relationship slipping? We've had a few arguments, yes, but with all this stress because of the Heir . . . isn't it to be expected?

Should I really be this concerned about giving him pride in dating me, though?

Ron was across the Common Room, tacking a piece of paper onto the bulletin board. From where she was, she could not read it. Did she want to know? What if she'd failed? There were many other good players out there . . .

Ron was done. He turned around, gave KayKay a half-smile, and left. KayKay watched after him for a moment, listening to his footsteps die away as he want back to his Dormitory.

__

Okay. Just check the list. You won't know until you've checked.

She made herself walk . . . one foot, then another, one foot, then another . . .

She couldn't get there fast enough. She couldn't get there slow enough.

KayKay slowly lifted her eyes and read the paper.

* * * * *

"Harry!" KayKay exclaimed softly. "Harry, I made it! Harry, wake up!" she said, bouncing on his bed.

"Grm-umfff" Harry lifted his face from his pillow and blinked at KayKay. "What?"

"I made it, Harry, I made the Quidditch team!" she said with as much enthusiasm as she could get into a whisper.

"That's swell, KayKay." He said, propping himself up on one elbow. "Never mind the fact that I already knew since I'm on the team."

"Oh . . ." KayKay said softly, her excitement dying as she stopped bouncing. " I see . . ."

"But hey," he said, putting a hand on her cheek, "you did a great job out there. I'm really proud of you."

Hearing him say it shouldn't have made her so pleased. Guys should be proud of their girlfriends no matter what.

Still, that didn't keep an ecstatic smile off of her face.

"Really?" she grinned.

"Really," he said. "Now, why don't you run off and get some sleep? It's awfully early."

"We'll only get in another half an hour or so before we have to go to classes." She said, looking at his clock.

"KayKay, it's Saturday. Go to sleep."

* * * * *

Hermione unrolled the Daily Prophet casually as she continued talking to everyone.

"It's scary, really, that the Heir is suddenly doing nothing. They've been quiet for . . . how long now? Almost two months?"

"Yeah. It's a bit eerie, that—"

"Oh, good lord!" Hermione interrupted KayKay. She set down her paper in exasperation.

"Oh, great. What did those freaks do now?" KayKay picked up the Daily Prophet and began reading the first article.

__

FLY AWAY INSTEAD OF PLAY

On March 24, the day of the Chudley Cannon's game against the rookie Salem Stallions, a group of Death Eaters apparated onto the field mid-game and began to attack. Of the panicked spectators, 23 were killed, and 19 were badly injured before Aurors arrived on the scene. None of the Death Eaters were captured . . .

The article continued, but KayKay dropped the paper, not minding the fact that the back page was being soaked in syrup.

"Those . . . those . . . imagine! At a _Quidditch Game!_ Why—"

"Speaking of Quidditch, you'd better get that paper off of your plate and eat some more pancakes." Ron said, only catching the end of the conversation. He moved the newspaper and poured some more syrup onto KayKay's breakfast. "I have a hard practice planned for you guys today, and you'll need all the energy you can get."

"Hopefully not energy for dodging the Unforgivables" KayKay growled, shoving the Prophet into Ron's face.

Ron took the paper and read the first few sentences. "Those bloody—"

"KayKay, I have something for you." Remus said, walking up to the small group and giving Ron reason to shut up. He propped a long box against the edge of the table.

"Uncle Remmy . . . what's this for?" she asked. It was a broomstick, she was nearly positive.

"Just call it catch-up for missed holidays. Besides, I think you'll want to get used to it before your game against Slytherin."

KayKay gasped as she opened the box to see a Firebolt. How could Remus afford something so expensive? He didn't have that kind of money.

"Remus . . . I—I—"

"Don't worry about it. Just have fun with it." He instructed, giving her a paternal kiss on the forehead.

"But . . . I mean . . ." it was obviously something he wasn't going to discuss. "Thank you." She finished sincerely. He chuckled and patted her on the shoulder.

"Anything. Now go on out there and play hard. We don't want Slytherin to win now, do we? Not that I'm supposed to take sides . . ." he winked, then strolled back up to the head table.

"Yeah, let's go. I'll bet the rest of the team is down there already." Ron said. "And technically, I shouldn't be the one to keep them waiting."

"Eh, just blame it on me. Bye, Hermione." KayKay said, standing up. She looked at the Firebolt a moment before slowly and gently pulling it out of the box and weighing it with her hands.

"I'll bring the box back to the tower. You two get going." Hermione said.

Ron wasn't exaggerating when he'd said they'd have a tough practice . . . he'd set up a strenuous workout for them. First, they had strength and conditioning exercises.

"Hold on, hold on . . . you want _KayKay_ to run with _me_ on her _back?_ I'll break her!" Megan protested.

"Wow, thanks for that vote of confidence, Megan. Great to know how weak your friends consider you."

"I didn't mean it that way, and you know it. Come on, Ron, give us a break!"

"Yeah, how is this supposed to help our Quidditch playing?" someone else complained.

"Guys!" KayKay said loud enough for everyone to hear her over the complaints, "Nobody said this would be easy. We all knew when we tried out for the team that we'd have to work hard."

"Easy for _you_ to say, _Newbie_. You're probably just sucking up so that when you can't do it, Weasley will go easy on you." Andrew Knoll sneered.

KayKay threw the Third Year an icy glare and, without uttering a word, took a very shocked Megan and hoisted her onto her back. Noticing in passing the uncharacteristically serious look on Ron's face, KayKay turned and walked out of the locker room, the rest of the team following curiously.

Upon reaching the Quidditch Pitch, KayKay broke into a run. Megan clutched her shoulders a bit more tightly as she bounced uncomfortably.

"Ummm . . . KayKay? What are we doing?" she asked.

"Proving a point," KayKay said before running faster. When she'd circled the pitch once and was coming up to the rest of the team, she slowed her sprint so that Megan wouldn't fall off when she stopped.

"Well done," Ron said. "Let's go back into the locker rooms and sit down, shall we?" 

A sermon was coming. They could all tell it by Ron's serious composure, not to mention the fact that he told them to sit down, which he only did when a speech was coming.

"Just a few minutes ago," Ron said, "KayKay was given a challenge. Spoken or not, Andrew challenged her dignity. But that's not what I'm talking to you about. Andrew, when he talked to KayKay, challenged her place as a member of this team."

Ron paced in front of the others as he spoke.

"We have no room for rivalries among this team. I'm sure many of you don't see KayKay as your teammate yet. It takes a hard Quidditch victory to do that. But I need to stress the point that _we don't have time_ to have that kind of attitude. Our game against Slytherin is coming up sooner than we think, and we need to work together to get to a point where we can be confident!

"I know it doesn't feel right to replace Dawn, but we _have no choice_. Also, I can remind you all that we voted on this. We all watched the tryouts, and we all agreed that KayKay was the best player for the position. So why is it that she's treated like an outsider? Save rivalries for the Slytherins!" he banged a fist against the table his plans were spread upon, making everyone jump.

"No member of this team should _ever_ have the feeling that they need to prove their worth to another player! That's the sort of thing that divides a team, and that's the sort of distraction that we do _not_ have time for! I will not tolerate _any_ member of this team making others feel unwanted, unneeded, or unfit, do I make myself clear?"

He watched, waited as everyone nodded solemnly.

"Good. If I were a Slytherin Captain, I'd make Andrew do double duty. If I were a Ravenclaw Captain, I'd make him make it up to KayKay. If I were Hufflepuff Captain, I'd make him apologize. But I'm not. We're Gryffindors, and I know that I wouldn't solve any problems that way. So, I trust that no one on this team will be causing any more of these problems. I can trust you all with that, right?" 

More nods.

"Good," he said again. "Now lets go out there and get ready for our game. Let's show those Slytherins what we're made of!"

So they carried partners. They were carried _by_ partners. They did an obstacle course on broomstick. They did an obstacle course on foot. They did speed conditioning on broomstick. They did strength conditioning by doing pushups.

On all ground exercises, KayKay excelled. By the time they were doing pushups, Ron joked that KayKay was making him look bad.

"But really—_forty five_—how is it—_forty six_—that you got—_forty seven_—so strong? This—_forty eight_—is really killing—_forty nine_—me."

"Me—_fifty_—too!"

Ron and KayKay, who'd been the only ones still sticking it out, both collapsed with a sigh.

"Boot camp." KayKay answered, rubbing her abdomen. "Used to be able to do more, but I guess I went soft over the winter." She said with a wink that let Ron know she was joking.

Actually, she still had a good fifteen more in her, but she thought fifty was good enough when Ron's pride as a Captain was at stake.

"All right, guys, good practice!" Ron said, standing up. Everyone else was still stretched out on the ground. "Next week we'll do more flying."

"Come on," Ron said, giving KayKay a hand to her feet. She looked around for Harry, having not spoken to him all day. Ah, there he was. Already off to shower.

__

How sweet of him to take time out of his busy schedule to say hello to me, KayKay thought, rolling her eyes.

* * * * *

"Come on, Sunday morning. Last day of freedom before the school week starts. Out of bed, KayKay."

"No, please, just five more minutes."

"That's what you said five minutes ago!" Megan exclaimed, tugging her arm to get her out of bed faster.

"Ow, ow, ow, watch the arm!" KayKay yelled, sitting straight up in bed and yanking her arm back.

"Sorry, KayKay, I—I thought it was the other arm that was burned . . ." Megan apologized.

"It is, I—" KayKay stopped and looked at the arm she was rubbing in pain. It the tattooed one. "You probably just yanked it funny." KayKay said, rolling her shoulder a bit. "It seems better already . . ."

"Sorry . . . well, at least it got you up."

"Yeah, and at least my abs don't ache this weekend. I'm _so_ glad that our Quidditch practice yesterday was strictly Quidditch."

"Definitely" Megan agreed. "Now get dressed. I'm hungry for something drenched in liberal amounts of syrup."

"Yeah, where else would you get the energy to be . . . you?" KayKay joked, opening her trunk and looking for clothes.

"I'm debating whether or not to be mad at you for that comment." Megan said.

"Oh, don't be. I get far more blackmail material when you're talking to me than when you're angry."

"Oh, in that case . . . okay!" Megan bounced a bit on her bed while she waited for KayKay to be ready.

"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of—"

"Okay, okay, we can go now . . ." KayKay laughed as Megan started singing.

"Yay! All right, let's go!" Megan said, grabbing KayKay's hand and dragging her with down the stairs.

"Hello again! This is Megan, your KTRT radio host, and it is Sunday, April third!" she announced as she skipped along. "In the weather today, expect . . . expect . . ._bad things on the horizon, bad—_I mean, lovely sunshine and few clouds! Sorry about that, I was looking at the chart upside-down! Traffic is nice and clear, no congestion, making it a perfect opportunity to get someone—_no, for God's sake, we're just kids! Only kids, why us!?_" Megan shouted, clutching her head with her hands.

"Megan!" KayKay gasped, "Are you all right?"

"No! Yes! I don't know, I . . . I just . . . I need to lie down, I think. I just got a killer headache. I'll meet up with you later if I'm feeling better."

"Do you want me to walk you up?" KayKay asked in concern.

"No, I'll live. I just . . . I don't know . . ." Megan mumbled, stumbling a bit as she turned and walked back up to Gryffindor Tower, one hand brushing the wall for balance, the other clutching her head. KayKay watched after her, stomach knotting in anxiety. Megan seemed to be becoming increasingly worse. Was it connected to the heir? Did Megan . . . _know_ things?

"Hello, mate! Why are you just standing around like a stupefied goldfish?" Ron asked cheerily, coming up behind KayKay. "You need to eat. We're getting into evening practices this week. Need to keep your strength up." He just then seemed to notice the expression on KayKay's face.

"Is something wrong?" He asked immediately, all animation falling out of his voice.

"No . . . I mean, I don't know. It's just Megan . . . I dunno, maybe she's just sick. She seemed fine a bit ago . . ."

"Oh, Megan is feeling down again? Probably all the stress of finals, Quidditch, the heir . . . everything. I'm sure she'll be fine, she always is." Ron said reassuringly.

"But . . ."

"What?"

KayKay didn't answer. She didn't know why, telling Ron what Megan had said would probably not have hurt anything. But still, something was stopping her.

"Nothing. You're right, I guess. Why don't we go to breakfast? Like you said, gotta keep my strength up."

"Spoken like a true Gryffindor. Come on, Hermione and Harry are already down in the Great Hall." Ron said, clapping KayKay on the back as they turned and walked down to breakfast.

"Ron," KayKay ventured cautiously after a moment's silence, "may I ask you something?"

"Sure" he said with a shrug. "What?"

"Well, this is a bit awkward, but . . . has Harry said anything about me? I mean, anything out of the ordinary?"

Ron looked at her in surprise. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I dunno," she sighed, scuffing the ground with her tennis shoes. "He just seems so distant lately. He barely seems to talk to me, even at Quidditch Practice or meals. I can't even remember the last time he did something sweet, like kiss me. I was just wondering if he'd told you anything, I guess."

"No, he hasn't." Ron answered. "I'll let you know, though."

They'd reached the Great Hall, and KayKay could hear the sound of careless chatter drifting out.

"Thanks," she said, with a truly grateful smile. She nodded towards the door. "Shall we?"

* ~ * ~* ~* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Harry looked up as KayKay and Ron sat down at the table. KayKay smiled tentatively. He responded with a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes, and KayKay's smile faltered. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but appeared to think better of it and simply closed it again, lowering her eyes to her plate of waffles.

"So, what's everybody going to do today?" Ron asked, seemingly oblivious.

"Study," Hermione replied, not looking up from her Herbology textbook.

"Hermione, it's only April!" Ron exclaimed.

"And finals now will be even harder than they were every other year." She replied.

"Well, I'm going to polish up my broom, maybe even do a bit of practicing. Big game coming up." Harry said. "How about you, Ron?"

"I'll probably go over our practice plans for the week . . . with a few breaks for Exploding Snap, of course. How about you, KayKay?"

KayKay pushed her food around on her plate and mumbled something about not having any plans.

"Hey, you can always join me for Quidditch Planning . . . not the most fun . . . but I'm sure you'll find something to do. Or hey, you haven't practiced your guitar for a while." Ron started rattling off ideas to occupy KayKay's time. Harry got quickly bored and looked around the Great Hall.

It seemed like a very mediocre day. All the students were going about their normal business . . . talking and reading and laughing. He caught some movement at the Slytherin Table and he looked over.

Madison was getting up to leave. Ron's ramblings must have either ended or bored KayKay, because as he followed Madison with his eyes, he noticed KayKay watching after her too. When he looked directly at KayKay, she was staring back at him with an expression he couldn't read.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"Nothing," she replied, looking back down at her breakfast. Harry noticed that she hadn't touched it one bit.

"KayKay, are you feeling all right? You're not sick or something, are you?" Hermione asked. So _she'd_ noticed too.

"No, I—I guess I'm just not hungry." KayKay said passively, pushing her plate away. She set her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands, the very image of woe. She stared down at the table, not meeting the eyes of any of the others.

"Hey, do any of you guys feel like . . . like something bad is about to happen?" KayKay said slowly.

"No," Ron said. "It's a normal Sunday, we haven't heard from the Heir in _months_ . . . what could possibly happen?"

KayKay looked at Ron in horror. "Why did you say that? Now something's bound to—"

"Hey, watch where you're going, Jacobs!"

Everyone looked to the entrance of the Great Hall, where Madison had just knocked Malfoy over. She didn't reply, just ran up to the Head Table. Dumbledore was on his feet before she even reached him, and as she talked to the Headmaster, Madison looked . . . frightened? No, that wasn't it . . . _panicked._ Yes, panicked was more like it.

"Students, please go to your Dormitories at once! You are not to leave them until your Head of House tells you otherwise." Dumbledore announced loudly. Without waiting for any of the students to start moving, he left the Great Hall.

"Not _again_." Hermione gasped. "Who would be daft enough to walk around alone after everything that's been going on?"

"Pansy Parkinson."

Harry looked over his shoulder to see Madison standing behind him with a grave expression.

"Who?" he asked.

"Pansy Parkinson," she repeated. "I had just left the Great Hall, and she was right there . . . right on the stairs, kinda as if she'd sat there and fallen asleep, you know?" She looked a bit shaken, and she stared at her hands most of the time. "So I went to tell her to wake up and move, and that's when I noticed the tattoo on the side of her face."

"What did it say?"

Madison finally looked Harry in the eyes. "It said 'THE'. Which doesn't make sense, if you ask me. It doesn't seem to fit anywhere with the rest of the messages that were left. I'm wondering if maybe the Heir did that by accident, since the last one said the same—"

She stopped abruptly the moment her gaze fell past Harry.

"I'm going to go to my Dormitory. You guys should go to yours too." Madison said quickly, turning and leaving. Harry looked at KayKay, who was scowling at Madison as she left. In silence the group stood up and followed the crowd up to Gryffindor Tower. Once there, the group went to their customary table in the corner of the Common Room.

"What was that for?" Harry immediately rounded on KayKay, who had just sat down. She, Hermione, and Ron looked at him in shock, and KayKay drew back a bit.

"Harry, what are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah Harry, settle down!" Ron said.

"So what if you don't like Madison? You don't have to chase her off like that when she's being nice!" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry," Hermione said quietly, "it's not like she was telling us anything we couldn't have figured out any other way."

"Settle down, okay? Just sit down, what's done is done." Ron said.

"Why do you have such a problem with her? Has she ever done anything to you?" He continued, oblivious to Ron and Hermione.

KayKay had shrunk, if possible, even further back in her seat. At one time, this would have made Harry stop and think about what he was doing, but at the moment, he felt indifferent, maybe even angrier, if that was possible.

"Well?!"

"You wouldn't understand." She said slowly. Harry could hear the edge in her voice.

"Oh really? Care to enlighten me?"

"Harry, _back off!_" Ron exclaimed angrily, putting an arm in front of KayKay protectively.

Harry looked from Ron, to KayKay, then back to Ron. His best friend, taking KayKay's side over his. Something strange was happening. Something was definitely going on. Harry glared at them and turned, walking away to go and brood in his Dormitory.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

KayKay sighed deeply and rested her head on her arms. Harry had been acting so different lately . . . and so what if she'd glared at Madison? Harry would do much more than glare at a guy if she were looking at him the way Harry was looking at Madison.

__

Well, at one point he would have. I don't know if he would now.

"I should go talk to him, huh?" she mumbled, not lifting her head from the table.

"No," Ron said, causing KayKay to look at him in surprise.

"Why not?"

"Because," he said, pulling a chair out and sitting down with her, "what do you have to talk to him about?"

"Well, I mean, perhaps I should apologize for—"

"KayKay, you didn't do anything wrong!" Hermione exclaimed, sitting down as well. 

"She's right," Ron said. "Harry was way out of line there. I'm surprised he treated you like that."

"_Nobody_ should be treated like that, especially when it's just because they don't like someone." Hermione agreed. KayKay was quiet for a moment.

"I've been getting along with Jacobs lately . . . we can even manage civil conversation, it's just . . ." KayKay stopped, not wanting to say what she was remembering.

"It's . . . just what?" Hermione asked softly.

KayKay sighed deeply and rubbed her face, stopping with a hand over her mouth as she blinked back what she was afraid could be tears.

She whispered, "Did you see the way he was . . . _looking_ at her?"

Ron and Hermione glanced at each other in confusion.

"No, we didn't," Hermione confessed, "why? How was he looking at her?"

KayKay cursed herself as a lone tear escaped her eye.

"The same way he used to look at _me_."

* * * * *

By dinner, Harry still hadn't spoken to KayKay. She kept her gaze lowered towards her spaghetti, pushing it around with her fork dejectedly and not lifting her head in case Harry was looking at her. She could sense that he was doing the same.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been not eating—Five minutes? Half an hour?—when she heard Harry whisper in her ear.

"Walk with me?"

KayKay was a bit startled, having not even heard him get up. Nonetheless she nodded, standing up. 

__

Maybe this is a good thing, she thought with a wistful smile. _I'm sure he just wants to apologize for this morning. And I, of course, will forgive him and we can be happy and everything can go back to how it was around Christmas . . . perfectly perfect._

"Is outside okay?" Harry asked as they got close to the doorway. KayKay nodded again, and Harry pushed open the door, guiding her through with a hand on her waist. KayKay grinned to herself. Another good sign.

The sun was just setting, and it's fiery reflection danced on the water of the lake. It was fairly nice out, but since it was only early April, there was still a bit of a chill to the breeze that made the trees rustle.

They walked together towards that lake, that shimmering vision of light, in silence. KayKay's mind was racing with thoughts, but she didn't voice any of them. She wanted to see what Harry had to say first.

A sharp breeze whipped about them as they reached the lake, and KayKay shivered involuntarily. Harry must have seen it, because as they stood quietly looking at the setting sun he wrapped his arms around her from behind. He still hadn't said anything, and KayKay was about to speak up when he finally spoke.

"You know, we really haven't talked for a long time."

__

Talking? What does that have to do with this morning? Why—

KayKay realized Harry was still saying something.

"It seems like we've been too caught up with our daily lives to really spend much time with each other since Christmas. Add that to the stress of classes and Quidditch, and the Heir . . . it would make it hard for any couple."

KayKay couldn't help but say, "But somehow, Megan, Ron, and Hermione manage to be social."

Harry didn't even miss a beat. "But they aren't like us," he pointed out. "KayKay, what I want to talk to you about has been on my mind for a long time now, not just this morning."

The sun had set very quickly, and was now below the horizon. The sky took on a misty lavender hue as the light slowly faded. The lake rippled with the wind, and a lone cricket chirped. Even with Harry there, it seemed so lonely and sad.

They both waited, in silence, as the sky darkened and the first few stars began to sparkle in the sky. They twinkled anxiously, matching the staccato rhythm of KayKay's heart. She felt the need to say something to prompt him.

"Go ahead then," KayKay said, "I'm listening."

"KayKay, let me first say that I'm sorry for the fights we've had lately. I really think a lot of it is because of all the worrying about what's happening, and about us not talking . . . almost like a miscommunication problem. After all, we didn't _try_ to fight . . . we have enough problems as is, and fighting makes that worse Are we okay on that? Do you forgive me?"

"Of course I do." She smiled, even though he couldn't see. "We'll try harder now, huh?"

Harry didn't answer, just continued. "Second, I have to say I'm sorry again. I think we—"

It was at that precise moment—that brief suspension in reality—that KayKay realized with a blow that this was not "a good thing", that this talk was not happy, joyful, reuniting talk. How she knew it she wasn't sure. But the wind seemed to howl louder, the stars seemed to darken, and KayKay went stiff in Harry's arms.

"—Should stop seeing each other."

It was a total shock. But again, she'd known it was coming. She'd never thought that he would—but of course, he _had_ been showing signs of disinterest—

Why was he still holding her? Why were his arms still over her shoulders? Why was she still _letting_ him hold her?

She pushed his arms away slowly but deliberately and turned around to face him.

"Why?" was all she said, and she was pleased to hear her voice much steadier than she'd anticipated.

"KayKay, don't think for a minute that this is because of you. I just . . . I don't feel like this relationship is working, and if we take some time off, then maybe I can be ready, maybe I can understand better where I'm going wrong with my part in it. It's not you, it's—"

"Don't give me that, Harry Potter, don't think I'll buy that for a _second!_" she exclaimed, giving him a "how-stupid-do-you-think-I-am-you-jerk" look. " 'It's not you, it's me. Oh, wait until I'm good enough for you and can win you back. I don't deserve you yet. This isn't because of you' . . . those are all men's ploys to keep their ex-girlfriends from crying so that they don't feel guiltier than they are for breaking up with them in the first place. Do you see me crying? Do you think I'll cry? Give it to me straight, Harry Potter, I asked you why!"

"Do you want me to tell you why?" Harry shouted, obviously having lost the composure he'd had to fool KayKay.

"Uh, jeez, I wonder if I just said that?" KayKay replied stupidly.

"Fine! The reason I don't want to date you anymore is because you don't know how to _be_ part of a relationship!"

"Oh, really? By all means, enlighten me."

"Okay then. You are too spontaneous. You feel the need to have your way once you latch onto an idea. You think your ideas are always right." He counted them off on his fingers. "You have no faith in people, you seem to always feel the need to have approval, once you've established a rivalry with someone you won't stop . . . you're stereotypical, you think that if our relationship is suffering it's my fault, and you're a flirt!"

KayKay looked at him in disgust. "Name one time a flirted with _anyone_ besides you."

"That kid, Matt . . . even Ron!"

"I have _never_ flirted with Ron in any way, shape of form!" she gasped. "And that incident with the mistletoe on Christmas was something I was _against_, might I remind you! _You_ were urging us on!"

"If you've never flirted with Ron, why are the two of you so chummy all of a sudden? Why is he suddenly taking your side over mine?" Harry accused.

"He and I talk more now because _you_ have barely been speaking a word to me! And as for him taking my side today, have you ever considered that he did because _you_ were in the wrong?"

"See? There you go again! Saying that you're right, blaming our problems on me!"

"You know what? If it'll make you happy and it'll get you to shut up, be my guest!" KayKay yelled in frustration.

"Go ahead and what?" Harry snapped.

"Go ahead! Date Madison! Ask her to the next Hogsmeade weekend for all I care! We both know that that's what this is about!"

"I never—"

"I've seen the way you've looked at her, I'm not as blind as you seem to think I am! During Potions, during meals, most of all, this morning! So go ahead, who cares about me, go! Go and chase after someone else. The grass is greener on the other side, after all!"

There was a pregnant pause in which she and Harry stared at each other, both with a countenance of anger, layered over frustration, impatience, regret, and sadness.

"Fine." Harry said finally. "This is a waste of my time."

He turned on his heel and began to walk away, and KayKay rubbed her face with her hands as she tried to calm herself. Something cool and smooth brushed against her cheek.

KayKay looked in surprise at her hand, on which was still the promise ring given to her by Harry. She snorted at the irony. Some promise.

"Hey!" she yelled at his retreating back, "What happened to Forever, huh? What happened to 'every star in the sky'? Do you have an answer for that?"

She watched him stop, saw him go rigid . . . and sighed silently as he continued walking, not taking a glance back at her.

The cold wind whistled through the woods and ruffled KayKay's tee shirt, making her shiver and rub her arms for warmth. The light of the moon made the silver ring on her hand shine and, with a cry of anger and sadness, she yanked it off of her finger. 

KayKay pulled her arm back, aiming the ring towards the lake. She would drown the ring, drown the memories, drown her sorrow. Harry would be out of her life, or at least off of her finger. She would throw it . . . throw it in the lake . . .

She dropped the ring on the ground, falling weakly to her knees beside it. She couldn't do it. She should have . . . but just couldn't.

She rubbed her arms again. She couldn't look at the sky, couldn't look at the stars . . . they had surely burnt out, surely fallen into the sea . . . he'd _promised_ her . . . he'd promised her by the _stars!_

KayKay brushed away a tiny tear that began to spill forth from her eyes. She'd said she wouldn't cry.

But then again, Harry wasn't here anymore. He'd left, gone up to Gryffindor Tower, no doubt.

So it was safe to cry. She let the tears spill forth, her shoulders shaking from her sobs as her heart seemed to break. She hadn't done anything to prompt this from Harry. She didn't deserve this. How could he be so cold and cruel? How could have changed so much from the boy she'd fallen in love with? 

The wind was so cold . . . it's mournful howling so empty and lonely . . . even the hooting owl in the distance didn't seem to be real, didn't seem to be a part of the world. It was simply a noise, not an animal, not a companion in her sorrow. For the first time in more than a year and a half, she felt completely and utterly alone.

Through blurry eyes, KayKay looked at the sandy ground along the edge of the lake. Already the wind had blown his footprints from the sand, leaving only herself and her own footprints.

As if he'd never even existed at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi again! Yes, it's the lovable, annoying moi! **Kiwiswims**, thanks for the review! *laughs* The irony of calling someone else "Kiwi" . . . see, Kiwi was my name when I first started reading and chatting on the Harry Potter Message boards . . . I still have a couple of the screen names somewhere in cyberspace! But any-who! Thank you so much! *blushes* I'm glad you enjoy my story, it makes it all the more fun to write! 

The reason you can't find my Fifth Year story is because I don't have it up anywhere. Please. Really. It's an embarrassment to nature. I swear. I was just starting writing then, and I'm ten times better now. (Which really makes you stop and think about how bad I was in the first place, LOL) All the things you need to know from it, all the "vital information", you could say, is in the beginning of the first chapter, and you can ask me anytime if you're curious about something. *calls out hopefully* THAT GOES FOR EVERYONE! *sighs* Like anyone else is reading.

I update every time I finish a chapter, which is . . . eh . . . two weeks, give or take? Sometimes a bit longer . . . but I post every night on my thread, just like Sorceress Flame does, and just like many others do. If you're interested, the link is on my bio page, and I announce in big letters whenever I update here so you know where to pick up with it if you decide to switch between. *shrugs* I'm rambling now.

But thanks again, and don't worry *winks* I have no intention of quitting now.

And thanks for reviewing again, **Icy**! *smiles*


	15. Expect the Unexpected

__

*~* Chapter Fifteen: Expect the Unexpected *~*

KayKay ran through the woods as a wolf, panting as she circled a clearing. Being in her Animagus form was like a release for KayKay . . . even though she still felt sad, she didn't feel heartbroken, per se.

She sat and howled at the moon, pouring her feelings out through a haunted song. It made her quiver from her nose to her tail, and as she slowly let the howl die, her human sense kicked in. The moon was high, and if she stayed out any longer, she'd get detention . . . it was a great possibility anyhow.

Giving one more delicious howl, she stood up and ran back towards the school. She could stay as a wolf until she heard someone coming . . . she'd be able to hear them a few halls away with her ears. Maybe she could get all the way to Gryffindor Tower without being spotted.

KayKay put on another burst of speed, smiling inwardly. To run so fast was like having a personal connection with the Earth and Sky . . . when she was a wolf, she became part of nature's harmonious circle. The feeling was exhilarating, but unexpectedly distracted as she rounded the lake and spotted the ring, in the same place that she'd left it. She skidded to a halt, paws scraping through the dirt as she slowed her breakneck speed and changed back into her normal self.

With the return of her human body came also the return of her emotions. The feeling of ecstasy she's had while being a wolf had dissipated, and she sat down dejectedly, looking at the ring in her hand.

__

Forever. Her promised that Forever would come, that we'd be together.

She closed her eyes, remembering the evening perfectly.

__

"Look KayKay," he had said, "look up at the sky. Do you see all_ those stars?"_

Sniffling, KayKay had looked up. "Yeah?"

Harry then cradled her chin gently and brought it down so she'd look him in the eyes. "KayKay? I promise_ you . . . I swear by every star in the sky . . . that Forever_ will_ come. Even if I need to search the whole world after we've gone different ways. I_ won't_ lose you. Not now. Not ever" he'd told her affirmatively._

KayKay laughed at the irony. He would never lose her? He already had, and it was his own choice! He had lost her on his own, they hadn't even needed interference from Voldemort or the Ministry!

Tears were running down her face by now, and she didn't know if it was from laughing or crying. She was tired, exhausted really, she was heartbroken, and she was cold. All she wanted now was a warm bed and some sleep.

Well, she got the latter.

* * * * *

"KayKay, get up, you'll be late for Potions. By the way, where were you last night?" Megan asked, flitting around the room as she got ready.

KayKay mumbled something illegible and rolled over. Megan sighed in exasperation and opened the window, pulling the drapes back all the way so sunlight and fresh air could pour into the Dormitory. KayKay's only response was to pull the blankets over her head.

"Come on, KayKay, you seriously are gonna be late. You don't even have time for breakfast!" Megan said. KayKay tried to stay asleep, didn't want to wake up, didn't want to face reality.

"Come on, look, even Casey wants you to get up!" Megan joked, picking up KayKay's puppy and setting her onto KayKay's bed. Casey padded in a circle a few times and curled up next to KayKay.

"No, Casey, you're supposed to be on _my_ side!" Megan whined. She then snapped into her serious-mode. "I'm not kidding KayKay, you have to get up!"

Megan grabbed fistfuls of KayKay's blankets and yanked them off of the bed.

"Why did you sleep in your clothes?" Megan asked. "You _never_ sleep in your clothes!"

Sleep slipped away from her. KayKay tried to catch it, but she knew it was gone. She blinked up at Megan.

"Megan, give me my blankets back." KayKay said groggily, reaching blindly for them.

"No way, you're late enough!" Megan said. "Come on, just put robes on over your clothes, no one will be able to tell that you slept in them."

KayKay looked at her clothes in dazed confusion. When had she come up to the Tower? Last thing she'd remembered was down by the lake, when she'd found the ring again . . .

"Don't zone out on me now, KayKay, you gotta get ready for class!" Megan said, cutting into her thoughts.

"I'm not going to class today, Megan, give me my damn blankets back!"

Megan dropped the blankets quickly. KayKay was sure it was because she was surprised. KayKay _never_ swore . . . except for once last year, and that was in an extreme situation.

"KayKay, where _were_ you last night?" Megan repeated.

"Brokenheartsville" KayKay mumbled, straightening her covers.

"Come again?"

"The stupid jerk broke up with me!" KayKay exclaimed.

"Who? Harry?" 

"No, that other guy I'm dating, the President of Deluded Fruitcakes Anonymous. _Yes_ Harry!"

Megan's jaw dropped. "Why?"

"Can we not go into that?" KayKay requested, pulling the blankets over her head again. "I hate Mondays."

"Of course!" Megan said sympathetically. "I just . . . I can't believe . . . that stupid—" 

Here Megan added some colorful vocabulary to the dialogue, which shall not be divulged.

"Megan, you'll be late. Go to class." KayKay said simply.

"All right," Megan sighed. "Just don't do anything—"

"Stupid. I know. Have a good day." KayKay rolled onto her side and tried to sleep again. She heard the door click as Megan left.

KayKay tossed and turned for half an hour before finally deciding that it wasn't worth it to try to sleep. Moving carefully so she wouldn't wake Casey, KayKay got up and rummaged through her trunk for an empty journal. She knew she had one somewhere . . . ah, there it was!

__

What time is it in California right now? KayKay wondered_. Heck, what time is it _period_?_

She grabbed her watch from the nightstand and, as she did so, she noticed the promise ring from Harry. 

__

How did it get up here? KayKay wondered briefly, before picking it up and tossing it into her trunk. _Okay, so it's almost eight-thirty . . . that means it's a bit past midnight over there . . ._ She mused, looking at her watch.

__

"Now, if you ever need to talk to me about . . . I don't know, anything . . . don't worry about what time it is, I'll be there for you. Okay?"

It was the last thing Matt had told her before he headed back to his school after they'd all swum to their heart's content in Harry's pool.

Well, now was definitely a time of need . . . hopefully he was still awake.

KayKay opened her journal to the first page. She hadn't yet used it, because it was a charmed book, quite like the charmed messages Harry could write.

Dipping a quill in her inkwell, KayKay began tentatively.

__

Matt? Are you awake?

It was few moments before the next message appeared.

__

KayKay, what is it? What's wrong?

I'm sorry, I didn't wake you up, did I?

As if a piece of paper could wake me up? No, I'm still doing Arithmacy homework.

Oh, KayKay wrote slowly_. Then I suppose I should let you . . ._

No, it isn't due until Tuesday. KayKay, what's wrong? I can tell there's something on your mind, and you're obviously not in class right now which, if I am correct, you should be?

Potions can go to Hell for all I care. KayKay scrawled angrily.

__

That bad, huh? She could almost picture him wincing.

__

Worse. But it's a bit hard to talk about . . .

Well then just ease into it, go slow and—

Harry broke up with me.

And . . . where was the easing???

Does it matter? KayKay scrawled.

__

I . . . I suppose not. So why? What happened? Four months ago he gave you a Promise Ring . . . why did he all of a sudden . . . well . . .

I guess I've expected it for a while it was still just . . . such a shock! He didn't talk to me very much for the past couple months and the worst of it is that he did it because he likes somebody else! I just . . . I can't even start thinking about it, otherwise . . .] KayKay began to cry again, thoroughly disgusted with herself for being such a baby. The tears that fell from her eyes splashed onto the paper and make the ink begin to smear.

__

KayKay! KayKay, don't cry! KayKay could almost hear the alarm in his voice as she read the words. _I can't believe that he would do that to you for someone else. Are you sure he's . . .?_

Yes, he's himself.

I was going to say sane, but . . .

KayKay laughed humorlessly. _Sane enough, I'm afraid, to blame me for every one of our problems and to check Madison out every chance he got._

You for Jacobs??? Now that isn't sane.

Well, I'm glad to hear that someone _thinks so!_ KayKay thought to herself.

__

You for ANYONE isn't sane. Matt continued . . . . .

__

Matt, did you just hit on me? KayKay wrote, actually smiling a bit.

__

Nope, just gave a truthful statement. But no, I'm sorry, you wrote to me for a reason, and I'm getting distracted . . .

Oh it's just so . . . ugh, and I want to SCREAM and then have someone hug me and tell me it'll be all right, but I do NOT want to lay eyes on that stupid . . . okay, I won't finish that sentence.

I wish they had fireplaces in the Dorms . . . I'd come there right now and help you with this . . . talking through paper doesn't seem to help much. I can imagine you screaming, and then you can imagine me giving you a hug. KayKay, if he acts like this towards you, he's not good enough for you. It's hard, I know, but just wait. Someday he'll either see the light, or else someone worthy of you will show up, your own knight in shining armor.

And I suppose you'll be first in line with your noble steed, lasso, and cowboy hat? KayKay was still crying, but smiling a bit.

__

Of course I would be, but I fear that no matter how many stars I wished on, I wouldn't make it to the final joust of the tournament. But honestly, when you get out around all those guys training to be Aurors, you'll have a line of men. We're just pretty stupid until the real world kicks us into the dirt.

KayKay looked at her watch and decided she'd kept Matt up long enough.

__

I think I should let you go to sleep. I can just imagine you yawning. You'll have to imagine me giving you a kiss on the cheek and thanking you profusely for cheering me up.

And you can imagine me blushing. KayKay, talk to me anytime you need to, okay?

Of course. Thank you, Matt.

Glad to help.

KayKay closed the journal gently and placed it in her trunk. She was suddenly overcome with great sleepiness, and she snuggled under her bedcovers next to her puppy and fell asleep.

* * * * *

"Honestly, as soon as we graduate, I'm going to figure out where he lives and trash his house." KayKay muttered, stuffing her Potions book into her bag. Megan laughed.

"Let me know when you do and I'll help you. I swear if I didn't want to be a Healer, I wouldn't endure Snape's class."

"Yeah, passing it should be an automatic admission to Auror training. If can survive NEWT Potions, I can survive _anything_." KayKay said, shaking her head. "At least this afternoon is just Charms, I can handle Flitwick well enough."

The two sat down at Gryffindor's table to their lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup.

"Thank God it's Friday" Megan said. KayKay nodded, surprised at how well the week had been considering her horrible Monday.

"Hogsmeade trip tomorrow. It'll be great to get out of the castle . . . fresh air . . . shopping . . . I love Hogwarts, but I'm getting an acute case of Cabin Fever." KayKay said, blowing on her soup to cool it down. "I just—"

"KayKay? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

KayKay stopped and looked up in surprise at the person who'd spoken.

"KayKay? Not Determan? Not Mudblood? Just KayKay?" she asked Madison sarcastically.

"KayKay, this is important. Megan, can you give us a minute?" she asked. Megan looked at her warily, then she turned to KayKay questioningly. KayKay nodded, and Megan raised her eyebrows, giving the silent message, "Good luck. I'm keeping my eye on her, though."

Megan gathered her things and moved down to sit by Hermione and Ron, and KayKay looked up at Madison expectantly. Just then, Madison did the unthinkable for a Slytherin.

She sat down.

A Slytherin; sitting down at Gryffindor table. 

Sitting down to talk civilly with a Gryffindor.

A muggle-born Gryffindor.

If anyone besides Slytherin House and a few Gryffindors had been watching, there would have been a collective gasp. As it was, there were some shocked and angry mutterings.

"Well? What is it?" KayKay asked, ignoring the eyes on her and Madison.

"KayKay, I just . . . I needed to tell you . . . Harry asked me to Hogsmeade." Madison whispered.

"Well, hooray for you." KayKay said, looking away. "Why was this so important for you to tell me about? Wanted to have a good gloat? It's not like the two of us are—"

"KayKay, I said no." Madison interrupted. KayKay blinked in shock.

"Y—You what?"

"I told him no."

"Why?!" 

Madison raised an eyebrow, and KayKay said quickly, "I mean, I didn't _want_ you to, certainly, but . . ."

"But it's the kind of thing you think I'd do?"

KayKay nodded honestly, and Madison smirked.

"You're half-right. Sure, if Harry had asked me to go to Hogsmeade before you came back, or if he'd asked me a few months down the road, I would have said yes, in all likelihood. I didn't now, though, because I think that guys who break up a perfectly good relationship in pursuit of a different girl are scum. I wouldn't want to go out with one."

"No, neither would I." KayKay agreed. They both looked down the table at Harry, who quickly settled his gaze back to his lunch, looking positively embarrassed.

"Do you really think that our relationship was all that great, if it can't withstand the temptation of another girl?" KayKay asked.

"That can be debated. Still, I think that while the distraction can be due to the feeling of being stuck in a relationship, it's more likely because the guy isn't ready to commit themselves to someone yet. Give them until the real world kicks them into the dirt." Madison said with a smirk. "Oh, I'd love to be around to see Potter bite the dust."

"Me too," KayKay agreed with an evil grin.

"Hey," Madison said, looking around, "has everyone been staring at us this whole time?"

"Yeah, I think so." KayKay sighed. "I'll let you yell 'Shut up, Mudblood' if it'll save your reputation any. I owe you."

"Nah, now we're even for all of those death threats. I'll just make up a story to tell back in the Common Room. See ya' around."

"Yeah." KayKay said. "Thank you."

Madison nodded once and walked away. Megan moved back down.

"What was that all about?" she asked, looking after Madison.

"Oh," KayKay said with a grin, "it just seems that Mr. Big-Shot isn't as desired as he thought he was."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Harry walked through Hogsmeade under the security of his cloak. It had been quite a while since his days of sneaking to Hogsmeade . . . back during his Third Year. Back when he was free of girlfriends and any thoughts of them.

It was pure irony that he celebrated his freedom by hiding underneath a cloak. But this way, he could avoid all the gossip, the gossip that had been tainting his otherwise lovely freedom.

__

Okay, so maybe KayKay wasn't that_ bad . . . just suspicious . . . and argumentative . . . and tenacious . . . and just a bit too . . . needy._

Harry stopped, reconsidered, and added to his list.

__

And she's not friendly to the right people and too friendly with the wrong people . . . especially guys . . . too time-consuming, always jumping to conclusions, too assertive . . . definitely the "women's rights" type of person . . .

Such a relief to be free! Free to look at other girls, free to not feel tied down by silly promises and sentimental mush!

__

Who made the promises though? Ha ha, that would be YOU—

Harry shook his head, banishing such thoughts. 

__

I was simply trying to make her feel less paranoid about relationships. Nothing wrong with telling a little white lie for that. She's SO paranoid, and bratty, and she has that "I'm always right" attitude . . . she's too into being independent—well, she got that, didn't she?

Harry laughed to himself, pausing thoughtfully as he saw KayKay enter the Three Broomsticks.

__

Okay, so she's pretty. I'll give her that. If there's any other part of her worth dating, I don't know what it is.

Still under the protection of his cloak, Harry followed her inside and stood against the wall not far from where she sat down. He was close enough to hear any conversation, although at the moment there was none. Something that was soon to change, he realized, as a Ravenclaw walked over.

"Mind if I sit here?" He asked KayKay. She looked up quickly, probably surprised to hear someone talking to her.

"Oh, sure." She said with a smile. 

He sat down across from her and extended a hand across the table.

"I'm not sure that we've met. I'm Brian."

"Hi," KayKay said, shaking his hand, "I'm—"

"KayKay. I know." He grinned.

"Ah the perks of being popular." KayKay snorted in a tone that proved she was being sarcastic. "You're Head Boy, aren't you?" she studied him curiously.

"Not today," Brian responded. "Today I'm just a guy enjoying himself."

Madame Rosmerta dropped off a tropical drink for KayKay, who said "thanks" as Brian ordered a Coca-Cola. Madame Rosmerta went back to the counter to accommodate his request.

"So, how is life treating you?" he asked.

Harry stepped a bit closer to hear the conversation better.

"Life is . . . looking up." She said slowly, nodding a bit.

"Not a typical response for a girl who's found herself single." Brian said.

"I guess I'm not a typical girl, then" she shrugged. "But how did _you_ know that Harry and I . . ."

"He's Harry Potter, and you're KayKay Determan. If girls aren't admiring him for his worldwide acclaim as The-Boy-Who-Lived and his school-wide acclaim on the Quidditch field, then it's guys, pining about you for your wit, charm and beauty." Brian spoke as calmly as if they were discussing the weather. He was leaning back casually in his chair, and he addressed KayKay as an old friend.

Harry was bored. Okay, so KayKay was fine, she was adjusting, she was _happy_ even . . . blah, blah, blah.

He left KayKay and Brian to their conversation.

__

Girls admire me on the Quidditch field . . . he thought with a satisfied grin. _It's the uniform. Girls love a guy in uniform._

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

KayKay choked on her Papaya Colada mid-sip.

"Me? Witty, charming, and beautiful?" she laughed. "Good one. I think you've got the wrong girl."

"Why would you say that?" Brian asked seriously. KayKay was shocked.

"Well . . . because!" she stumbled a bit on the words. "If I was, then . . . then—"

"Then Harry wouldn't have broken up with you?" he finished quietly. KayKay looked down at her drink and didn't answer.

"It's good thing I found you out by the lake instead of a Professor. I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty of bringing you to your Dormitory." Brian said, both changing the subject and not changing the subject at the same time.

__

So that's_ why I couldn't remember coming up to Gryffindor Tower! I must have fallen asleep down by the lake!_

"Thank you. But why didn't you deduct points from Gryffindor?"

"Just call it another time when I was simply Brian, not Head Boy. And ignore any stupid things Harry may have said about you that night. Guys are idiots until the real world has their way with them."

KayKay smirked. "Do you realize that you're the third person who's told me that exact same thing?"

"It must be true then." Brian grinned. KayKay laughed.

"Yeah, Harry _is_ rather stupid, especially if he expects me to fly into his arms if he ever decides he wants to date me again."

"He'd be an idiot to ask, but an even bigger idiot not to." Brian said without hesitation. His comment had barely begun to register in her head when he continued.

"So, it would seem that we can't get you to stay away from Hogwarts, eh?"

KayKay was relived at the change in topic. "Nope. I love it here, more so than at that school in California . . . Even if I do miss some parts of it . . ."

"Here to stay now?"

"Well, I assume so. Last year was an exchange program, but this year it's because of a . . . uh . . . change of address." She said. Not exactly a lie . . .

"You know, your very first day, I—nevermind." He stopped himself, taking a drink of his Coke.

"What?" KayKay asked, naturally curious.

"Nothing, really . . . forget I said anything." He said, which of course made KayKay even more curious.

"Do I need to get the real world in here to 'have its way with you'?" KayKay joked, implying that Brian was acting idiotic

Which he was, of course.

He sighed, running a hand through his sandy-brown hair.

"I was just going to say that—hey, this is a fun song! Want to dance?" he asked, grabbing KayKay's hand and getting up as a disco song by the Bee Gees came on.

"What kind of answer is _that_?" KayKay laughed as she stumbled after him to the dancing area on the other side of the tavern.

"It isn't one!" he answered, giving KayKay a twirl and making her gasp in surprise.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" he asked in concern.

"No, it was fun! Do it again!" KayKay giggled. "You seem to know a lot about disco!"

"Only the best dance style even known!" he answered. "Or at least the most fun."

KayKay couldn't argue with _that._

"So, what were you going to say earlier?" she asked.

"Do you really want to know?" he replied, giving her another twirl.

"Yes" she replied when she got back around.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know"

"But I'm not a cat," she said.

"True." He agreed. "Fine, if you really want to know . . ."

"I do."

The last bit of the song played and Brian pulled KayKay close and dipped her on the last beat. "I've had a crush on you ever since the first day you were at Hogwarts" he said in a rush.

"_What_?!" KayKay gasped, loosing her precarious balance and falling on the floor.

__

Ouch . . . my bum . . . she though miserably as Brian gave her a hand up.

"Well, now you know. Are you okay?" he asked as he walked with her back to their table.

"I will be when I am no longer in a shocked coma," KayKay said sarcastically. "Why? I mean, why me?"

Brian shrugged openly and honestly. "You weren't timid, for one . . . you seemed friendly, and you're . . . well . . . witty, charming, and beautiful." 

KayKay blushed furiously. No one had said anything like this to her so openly, not even Harry. "My gosh, Brian, I haven't blushed this much since . . ." she trailed off, then corrected herself. "I haven't blushed this much." She laughed, stirring her drink. "Still, you're delusional."

"Why?" he asked, looking at her seriously.

"Well . . . because!" she sputtered. "I mean, I may be friendly . . . and perhaps even witty . . . but charming isn't a way I'd describe myself," she snorted, "and definitely not _beautiful!_"

"Just because one guy may have said mean things to you doesn't mean it's true. I'll bet that half of the guys Fifth Year and up would agree wholeheartedly with me."

"And the other half . . .?"

" . . . Would be Slytherins, Harry, and guys who couldn't risk agreeing because they'd be pummeled by their girlfriends."

"Brian." KayKay sighed.

"KayKay." Brian mimicked, tilting his head to the side like her.

"You do realize I'm not very open to the dating game right now? To date again so soon would be . . . bad form . . ." KayKay struggled under the words.

"Oh, I know." Brian sat back with his hands out in front of him as to push away the notion. "I wasn't suggesting anything . . ." he smiled kindly. "I just wanted to make it known to you that you're a smart, friendly, witty, charming, beautiful young lady that doesn't need a guy to complete her."

KayKay couldn't help but smile back.

* * * * *

"So, according to Harry, you're . . . suspicious, argumentative, stubborn, time-consuming, grudge-holding, needy, and bratty?" Madison asked in disbelief.

"Don't forget judgmental, independent, paranoid, and full of myself." KayKay said.

"_He's_ full of himself." Madison growled, "But how are you handling it?"

"The breakup? Okay, probably because I've had a few weeks to get used to it, and because we hadn't been getting along for a while before it. _Quidditch Practice_, on the other hand . . ." KayKay made a face, "He thinks he's a real hot shot, and it drives me crazy! Not to mention the fact that we're supposed to still be accompanying each other everywhere we go."

"Yeah, why all that, anyhow?" Madison asked curiously. 

She and KayKay had both been at the library for research and had begun talking. When Madame Pince finally had ushered them out and told them to go to their Dormitories, they decided to instead wander and chat, discovering that they didn't hate each other nearly as much as they'd thought.

"It's . . . complicated . . ." KayKay finally answered. Madison nodded in understanding, then suddenly stopped nodding her eyes going wide as they rounded the corner.

"Oh Lord, not again . . ." Madison muttered as KayKay said "Oh _no_ . . ."

The girls burst into a sprint towards the two limp figures they saw in the hallway, but stopped short with a gasp as they got near.

"Oh God . . ." KayKay said with disgust. Madison seemed to share the opinion.

"It's . . ."

"_Blood_" they both finished at the same time, looking at each other, unsure of what to do. They'd both found victims of the Heir before . . . but never before had it been as it was now, the victims lying in pools of blood.

KayKay swallowed bravely and said, "We . . . we should get this cleaned up." Madison stared at her.

"Are you _crazy?_" she asked. 

"Uh, yes? Come on, we'll just use our wands . . . then we need to go to Dumbledore, right away."

"Fine, fine." Madison muttered. As soon as the blood was cleaned away, they could go close enough to see who had been attacked.

The first person was a girl whom they didn't know but recognized as a Fifth Year Hufflepuff. The second was a boy, lying facedown. KayKay turned him over and gasped, stumbling back with a hand over her mouth.

Madison, who was inspecting the girl, didn't notice.

"Hey, she has a small cut, but not enough to cause all that blood . . . and her temple says 'HAS' . . . KayKay?" she'd just looked over and noticed KayKay, still frozen with wide, sorrowful eyes.

"Is he someone you knew?" she asked softly, coming over to KayKay, who nodded.

"Wait . . ." Madison said slowly as she saw his face. "Isn't he the Head Boy?"

KayKay nodded again. "Brian." 

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and Madison said gently, "Come on, we _need_ to see Dumbledore about this right away."

KayKay nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She brushed his hair a bit to the side to see his temple.

" 'ONLY' . . ." she informed Madison, trying to sound businesslike. "Let's go."

She stood up and walked quickly with Madison towards Dumbledore's office, looking over her shoulder at Brian's sad form only once.

They rounded the corner to Dumbledore's office, almost running into someone else in the process.

"KayKay!"

"Megan!"

"Madison?"

"Megan?"

"KayKay . . .?"

"Well, Madison . . ."

"What are you doing here?" they all asked at the same time. "Seeing Dumbledore, why?"

The three girls laughed, or rather, Megan laughed and Madison and KayKay only gave a chuckle or two, still remembering _why_ they were seeing Dumbledore.

"I'm not sure what he wants, he just sent for me. But what about you two?" Megan asked.

"Another attack." Madison muttered darkly.

"Oh . . ." Megan said slowly. "That's . . . bad."

KayKay nodded, ignoring that fact that was now blatantly obvious . . . Madison _couldn't _be the Heir. Not unless she could be in two places at once . . .

Which was, technically, conceivable.

"Pickled Pears" Megan said to the stone gargoyle, which leapt aside for the girls to enter. They rode the staircase up, but before they could knock, Dumbledore spoke.

"Come in ladies."

Megan opened the door cautiously and the three filed in and sat down. Dumbledore chuckled.

"A thing I thought I'd never see . . . a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, friends. Not to mention two that loathed each other at the start of the year."

He sat back in his chair. "Still, I've never enjoyed much the way friends were defined by houses. Now, you're here for a reason then, but let me first speak to Megan. Do you know why I asked you to come here?"

Megan shook her head, and Dumbledore smiled.

"Let me be the one, then, to deliver the good news." He handed her a packet of papers. "These arrived to me from the orphanage you are a member of."

Megan, looking more than a little confused, took the papers and began reading the top one. She couldn't have been more than halfway through it when she let out a cry of surprise and jumped up.

"They want to adopt me, KayKay! They want to adopt me!" She squealed, jumping up and down. KayKay was to her feet just as quickly.

"What? _Who?_"

"Mary and Tim Johnston!" She said.

"Who are they?" KayKay asked in bewilderment.

"No idea!" Megan exclaimed, a maniac grin on her face as she kept jumping. "But who cares? _Someone finally wants me!"_

KayKay pulled her friend into a tight hug, knowing how much this meant to her. She'd been longing to be adopted her whole life, and didn't understand why no one had even looked at her folder when they went to the adoption agency. And sure, perhaps Megan _was_ a bit older than most adopted orphans, but . . . a _family!_ Somewhere to go on Christmas besides a friend's house . . .

"Oh Megan, I'm so happy for you!" KayKay said, noticing but not mentioning the tears of joy that were watering up in Megan's eyes.

"Oh, _wow_." Megan said softly. "This is so . . . _wow_. I have to tell Hermione! Was that all, Professor?" She asked, looking at Dumbledore. The Headmaster nodded, and Megan squealed again, darting away to share the glad tidings, leaving KayKay and Madison very much alone with Dumbledore.

"Please, sit. I can tell by your faces that what you need to tell me is not good." Dumbledore said softly.

"It isn't," Madison said as KayKay sat back down. "KayKay and I . . . we've discovered another attack."

"Where? Who was it?" Dumbledore asked.

"By Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. It was—"

Dumbledore grabbed a fistful of powder and tossed it into the fireplace.

"Minerva, victims at Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I want you down there immediately with Poppy!" He turned back to the teenage girls and said "Continue."

"One is a Sixth Year Hufflepuff girl . . . we didn't know her. The other was the Head Boy—" 

"Brian" KayKay supplied quietly.

Dumbledore stood up so suddenly that Madison and KayKay actually jumped.

"I want the two of you to return to your Dormitories at once. No, not that way." Dumbledore stopped them when they stood up and headed for the door. "I'd like you to Floo, since you're in different houses. Quickly now! I must attend to this . . . matters are getting increasingly worse." He continued in a softer tone. "Never would have expected . . . Head Boy . . ."

"Gryffindor Common Room!" KayKay called, stepping into the flames. When she closed her eyes to keep from getting dizzy, she kept seeing the image of Brian lying helplessly on the stone floor.

She stumbled out of the fireplace in Gryffindor Tower, startling quite a few people.

"KayKay, what happened? What is it?" Megan asked. KayKay just shook her head, conveying the message that she was in no mood to talk.

She waited until she was secure in her four-poster with the curtains shut before she cried for the loss of Brian.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

May seventh dawned bright and early, heralding Gryffindor's final Quidditch match against Slytherin. Harry looked on with slight concern as Ron went from team member to team member at breakfast, encouraging them to eat while not sitting down and eating anything himself.

KayKay finally stood up and said something to Ron, placing her hands on his shoulders and steering him to an empty spot where she made him sit down. Harry couldn't hear any conversation, he was too far away, but from what he gathered, KayKay was making him eat his scrambled eggs while she continued urging on the team. From the look on her face, Harry doubted that she'd eaten either, but it was her first game, and he remembered well _his_ first game, when it felt like if he ate anything it would simply come back up.

It was all a pretty typical scene, if one disregarded the fact that they were eating in the Common Room, as they had for almost two weeks now. Apparently, the Ministry still hadn't responded to Dumbledore, who couldn't close the school without confirmation from them. He finally arranged a schedule for Professors to teach in the Common Rooms, commuting by way of Floo in order to keep students safer. Either it had worked, or the Heir was keeping silent . . .

"Mr. Weasley? Is your team ready?" Professor McGonagall asked over the noise of the chatter.

Ron looked down the table, receiving six nods in reply.

"Yes, Professor." He said, standing up along with KayKay, Megan, Jesse, Andrew, Ginny, and Harry. It was fortunate that Dumbledore had allowed them to have this last Quidditch Match, and they all knew it.

Harry looked over at KayKay as the team walked through the castle with their Head of House. This being her first Quidditch Match, it was obvious by the look on her face that she was horribly nervous.

__

She'd better not ruin this for us! he thought. _She's a good player, but everyone is worse at their first game, and this is the one game we can't lose!_

* * * * *

"And Gryffindor scores again, leading 70 to 60! I have to say, the Gryffindor Chasers are doing a fabulous job, despite any shortcomings from their team's Beaters!"

Harry looked down where KayKay and Ginny were flying after the Chasers and hitting the Bludgers towards the Slytherins. KayKay was under obvious stress, the pressure and inexperience of a real game (and one as important as this, the final) making it hard for her to do much but keep Megan, Jesse, and Andrew from being de-broomed by Slytherin's Beaters.

"Determan!" Harry yelled swooping a bit lower, "In case you've failed to notice, this is an actual game! Stop messing around and start treating it like one!"

He flew away, going lower and scanning the field for the Snitch. He didn't see it.

He also didn't see the glare KayKay threw at him _or_ the next Bludger she hit which, had she not wanted to beat the Slytherins, would have been aimed at him.

He did _hear_ the Bludger hit Malfoy, who was following close behind him. During the momentary distraction during which the Slytherin Seeker was attempting to get back onto his broom, Harry spotted the Snitch just a bit above him. It was an easy catch, not even a steep dive to provide a slight challenge. Harry caught it easily, rising into the air triumphantly as the Gryffindors cheered loudly at their quick victory.

"And a quick end to the game, Gryffindor winning 220 to 60, great thanks to . . ."

Harry didn't listen to the rest of the commentary as he and the rest of the Gryffindors touched down. Something suddenly whistled over Harry's head, making his hair ruffle. He ducked instinctively and looked behind him as a Bludger flew away.

KayKay landed and watched as the rest of the team began walking towards her and Harry. "Oh, I'm _so_ sorry, Potter." KayKay said sarcastically. "Guess I'd better start treating this like a real game?"

"You're lucky I was able to catch the Snitch early on, otherwise we would've lost, thanks to your bad performance out there!" Harry snapped.

"_I'm_ lucky? Who saw Malfoy heading for the Snitch and whacked a Bludger at him?" KayKay exclaimed.

"Not you, I'm guessing by your mediocre skills out there today! The _Slytherin_ Beaters were more likely to hit Malfoy than you!"

KayKay was about to reply when Ginny ran up to KayKay and gave her a high-five.

"Nice job on Malfoy out there! Boy you sure got that prat when it really counted! Did you hear Dean's comment at the end of the game?" she asked, chattering happily.

"Yeah, he said that if it weren't for you, we probably wouldn't have won!" Ron said. "Cheers, mate!" he grinned. "Come on . . . let's get that trophy we won! And I'm sure there's a party waiting up in the Common Room!"

"Hi there, Madison," Harry said to the girl a while later when all the students were going back to their Common Rooms. "What's up?"

What happened next was a complete surprise.

She turned around and right there, in the middle of a crowd of people, she slapped him. A hush fell over the people nearby who'd witnessed the event, and then people began to whisper to each other, the news spreading fast through the crowd with a buzz as people strained to see and hear what was happening.

" 'What's up?' Your ego, obviously," Madison sneered, before turning away and jogging a bit to catch up with KayKay, whispering something in her ear and making both of them laugh as KayKay looked back at Harry in amusement. Harry rubbed his cheek, although his pride was injured more than he was. 

Okay, so obviously she and KayKay were now on friendly terms. Obviously, she and KayKay had talked about the kind of things Harry had said to KayKay.

Obviously, Madison didn't feel the same towards him as she had in the fall.

Women!

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 

KayKay laughed as she took another swig of Butterbeer. Megan was doing an impression of Malfoy trying to get back onto his broom after KayKay had hit him with the Bludger, and she was, of course, doing the impression complete with an expression of idiocy.

"That's it, that's how he looked!" KayKay exclaimed, doubling over with laughter as Megan grabbed wildly for an invisible broomstick. As KayKay took another sip of her drink, Megan pretended that her fingers slipped off of the broomstick and she fell, making KayKay snort as she clapped a hand to her face.

"Megan you brat, I was in the middle of drinking!" she admonished, swatting her friend.

"What, Butterbeer up the nose?" she asked innocently.

"Yes, and it isn't very nice, I'll have you know!" she said, to the laughter of some other members of the team.

"Please accept my humble apologies, Oh Wondrous One" Megan said, standing and sweeping into a deep bow. KayKay laughed in response, and they flopped into comfy chairs.

"So, have you yet informed our American friends of our victory?" Megan asked, taking a bottle of Butterbeer off of the table and opening it.

KayKay, with the large amount of time they now spent sitting idle in the Common Room, had kept a regular correspondence with Chad and Matt. She had told them how they could enchant papers and journals as she did, so sometimes they wrote to her and Megan . . . not always at convenient times.

"Here, I'll tell Chad, you can tell Matt." Megan said, passing KayKay's journal over and then pulling out her own.

"Prepared, are we?" KayKay laughed. She pulled out a pen, dismissing the use of a quill and ink, as it was a bother. However, when she opened the journal, Matt had already beaten her to it.

__

So, how was the game?

Talk about timing, Matt! I was just about to—

I know, I'm hanging out with Chad at the moment, and Megan just wrote to him. So . . .?

It was fabulous, thank you very much. She wrote airily. _I succeeded in pelting Malfoy with a Bludger at a particularly crucial moment . . . I missed Potter though. Too bad my aim was off . . ._

I see you're still hating him? Doesn't that make playing on a team rather . . . difficult?

DUH! Did you miss my previous comment about hitting a Bludger at him? KayKay actually laughed out loud. _Well, I guess it really isn't too bad. I'm actually happier now . . . I mean, I can just have fun with my friends and enjoy the last bit of the term—_

School? ENJOYABLE? Okay, I want a bit of whatever you've been drinking or smoking . . .

Oh, shut up! You know what I mean . . . I don't have to worry about "Oh, now we're mad at each other for this," and "Great, what did I do wrong NOW?" . . . now to make Voldemort and Snape disappear, and my life shall be perfect!

Which just goes to show that I'm not insane for enjoying the single life.

Oh, so you got Mellie Dorin off of your back, then?

Oh sure, just a few well placed questions of, "Do you think this color is okay on me?" and "Do you think these khakis make my hips look big?" and she was gone in a flash.

KayKay was laughing hysterically now, causing some raised eyebrows from her fellow Gryffindors.

__

Yeah, and the scary thing is that I can totally picture you saying that . . . she wrote, her handwriting shaking as she tried to suppress her laughter. She gave up, flopping back in her chair amid giggles.

Nobody knew quite what to make of it.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Meanwhile, across the room, Harry was thinking as he drank, and the object of his concentration was most certainly _not_ the pesky First Year babbling to him.

"So, you just decided to break up with KayKay?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, not paying the slightest attention.

"Just like that?" she pressed.

"Yeah, sure." What _was_ it about women? He couldn't seem to figure it out.

"So, what did she do? Did she yell and cry?"

"Yeah, sure." He looked at his empty bottle and decided to go get another. The girl followed him.

"That's what my mum does whenever she and my dad fight." She chattered, obviously not deterred.

As if it wasn't obvious already, the girl was Sabrina Dawson, and she still had _plenty_ of questions to occupy Harry's time.

"You know, when I first saw you guys at the beginning of the year, you seemed like you really liked each other. I mean _really,_ really liked each other."

"Yeah, sure."

"So, it _was_ you who decided to break up with her? Not the other way around? It was you?" 

"Yeah, sure."

Now, what was odd was the fact that Sabrina always received the same answer to her questions, but didn't find it at all strange. She simply pressed on, as Harry simply didn't listen.

"Well, just goes to prove that you men are idiots, doesn't it? I mean, no offense, but what jerks! You know, I read a book once. It said that it's a man's nature to use a person to their advantage, because they're more secure being feared than being loved. I actually think it's probably true. Guys are absolutely stupid, aren't they?"

Harry, who had just been wondering, _Maybe I should try with Madison later, in the fall, when KayKay and I have been apart for a good four or five months . . ._ responded with the customary, "Yeah, sure."

Just then, KayKay could be heard across the Common Room, laughing loudly. Both Harry and Sabrina looked over at the sudden distraction. Harry, after seeing the cause and dismissing it without interest, walked over to his chair and sat back down. Sabrina watched KayKay a while longer, her head tilted to the side as if she was rapidly analyzing this new occurrence. Harry thought that maybe she'd leave him alone now but, on the contrary, she skipped over to Harry.

"She seems happy though, doesn't she?" Sabrina asked thoughtfully. This time, Harry actually listened to the question.

"Yeah, looks like it."

Sabrina nodded thoughtfully, looking at KayKay.

"I suppose she feels better, now that you're not always fighting. She seemed sadder back then. She also looked tired. Maybe stressed." She was quiet a bit longer, and then she looked at Harry.

"You're happier now, too."

It wasn't a question, but it seemed to prompt a response.

"Yeah, I am." Harry said.

"You can tell." Sabrina nodded. She looked again at KayKay and gave a small sigh. "The two of you made a cute couple, back in the fall when you got along. But when you started having arguments, you both were quieter. Sad, I guess."

There was a long silence after she said this, and Harry slowly realized she was right. Ever since January or February, KayKay had stopped being her normal, smiling self. He'd also stopped enjoying things he'd normally had fun doing. But now, since the breakup . . . Quidditch had become more enjoyable, playing Chess with Ron had become more fun . . . even classes were more tolerable.

"So, I guess that it's actually a good thing you and KayKay stopped seeing each other, huh?" Sabrina asked. Harry looked at her for a long moment, and then actually smiled.

"Yeah. I really think it is."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First off, sorry that this chapter took forever to get out. Fifteen and Sixteen were originally going to be one, but when I saw how long it was becoming, I decided to split it.

But thanks bunches to **spunx182 **and** Bacardibob **for reviewing . . . Spunx, Flame's story is still in the works and still on the boards!

So, until next time . . . don't die or eat Play Dough! *winks*


	16. Here We Go

__

*~* Chapter Sixteen: Here We Go *~*

KayKay flopped into bed with a sigh, trying to banish the mild headache that threatened to intensify with a painful throbbing.

"You too?" Megan asked, stumbling to her trunk for pajamas. KayKay hadn't even bothered to change out of her robes.

"Ugh, why do Astronomy exams have to be so late at night?" KayKay groaned, rolling over on her stomach and grabbing her exam schedule from her bedside table.

"I wonder if it has anything to do with the need to see the stars?" Megan asked sarcastically.

"It was a rhetorical question," KayKay said, looking down at the schedule.

" 'May twenty-third' . . ." KayKay read out loud. "Ugh, _Potions_. I guess tomorrow and Sunday will be devoted to trying to memorize every potion we've done . . ."

"And practicing the ones we haven't. I wouldn't put it past Snape to give us an unfamiliar assignment." Megan said dryly.

"Yeah," KayKay yawned. "Amazing, I actually wish the exam was in the dungeons. I could do with a change of scenery."

"I say we just fly our brooms out of the window and sleep under the stars."

"Yeah right," KayKay snorted. "If the Heir didn't get us, the creatures in the Forbidden Forest would. I don't think they're as timid when they're dealing with sleeping victims."

"Okay then, the Great Hall. It's almost like sleeping under the stars—"

"Megan, it _is_ sleeping under the stars." KayKay scoffed, putting her schedule away and flopping out on her bed as comfortably as she could manage.

As she drifted off, KayKay could hear Megan muttering, "This is . . . Megan . . . KTRT . . . announcer . . . good bye."

KayKay drifted into a fitful nightmare, not unlike some others she'd had recently. She moaned and curled into a fetal position as the familiar vision began to unfold . . .

__

She was walking down a bare stone corridor. She could hear footsteps beside her, but looking over she saw nothing, save a shadow on the wall. Deciding it must have been the echo of her own steps, she continued walking. The corridor did not curve, and it had no apparent end. The torches on the wall were all identical, as was every last stone in the wall. 

KayKay wondered vaguely how long she'd been walking when she noticed something peculiar. The shadow against the wall was not her own. It was taller than hers, and shaped differently. Stopping to inspect it, she gasped and stumbled back against the far wall as she realized that not only did the sound of footsteps continue, but also that the shadow continued moving. Seemingly pulling itself from the wall, the shadow stepped into the open as KayKay shrunk back farther. 

__

Her fear turned to amazement as the shadow lightened, turning slowly to a more definite, three-dimensional form.

"KayKay," it stated simply. It was like a picture coming into focus . . . the features were slowly sharpening. She could see Hogwarts robes . . . sandy-hair . . . a Head-Boy badge!

"Brian?" she asked in astonishment.

The boy stepped forward now, looking as solid as real.

"In the flesh . . . well, as a manner of speaking. What is troubling you KayKay?" He asked.

"I don't know . . . I wasn't aware that anything was_ troubling me." KayKay said, starting to walk with him down the corridor._

"There must be something. Otherwise you wouldn't be dreaming this dream." He said, falling into step beside her. His voice was distant, and it echoed somewhat . . . like the sound wasn't coming from the boy beside her, but from somewhere up above.

"Maybe . . . maybe it's this Heir thing," she confessed. "I feel like there's nothing I can possibly do to stop what's happening."

Brian nodded. "That sounds plausible. It—"

There was a sudden commotion up ahead. KayKay stomach tightened at the sight . . . someone, in a black cloak embroidered with green snakes along the hem and cuffs, was facing a girl and . . . Brian?

KayKay made to run ahead, to stop what was happening. The Brian beside her, however, held her back.

"Let go, I need to help—"

"Stop, KayKay, stop!" he said, holding her back as she struggled to pass him. "You can't change it. It's already happened."

"No . . . no, it hasn't!" KayKay pleaded. "I can stop them, I can save you two!" she could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "How can you just stand there, you're being killed!_ It doesn't have to be like this!"_

"Yes it does, KayKay," he said, gently yet firmly. "It does."

She looked at him and was startled to see tears in his eyes as well.

"I'm glad I got the chance to meet you and talk to you before . . . you know . . . it happened. But now it has. We can't change that. It was wonderful knowing you, KayKay." He said, pulling her into a friendly hug.

"This just in! Troubles in Common—let me check this memo again—ah, common rules!"

"What?" KayKay almost asked Brian, but even as she looked up, he was fading away, even though she still felt his embrace. The colors of the dream seemed to be dripping away, running down the walls and mixing together.

"But more on that after this song, request from one of my listeners! We're jumping back a decade, with 'I Will Survive' from Selena Quintanilla!"

"What?" KayKay repeated, forcing her eyes open. It was still dark outside, the clock by her bed read 5:07 AM, but Megan was sitting up in bed, chattering away. Her ramblings must have forced into KayKay's dreams . . .

KayKay tried to sit up, struggling a bit as she was wrapped tightly in her sheets.

"Well, that explains it feeling like a real hug" she muttered, trying to extract herself from the jumble of blankets. Propping herself up on one elbow, KayKay squinted through the darkness.

"Megan? Do you have _any_ idea of what time it is?" she asked. 

"And we have a confused listener. Just got back from out of state, adjusting to the time change? It's approximately 5:10 AM, my friend. Next caller—"

"Megan, _why_ are you up so early?"

"Early?" Megan continued in her radio voice, adding a chuckle. "No, no, no, it's late, very late . . . _too_ late. I have to apologize, you missed the start of the morning show. But that's all right, because we have more hits on the way! It's Blast from the Past day! Go downstairs—where you keep those albums—and revisit the old memories. And coming to you from the Beach Boys: California Girls!"

Megan waved her wand with an idiotic grin, and music filled the room.

"Megan! Snap out of it and shut up so I can sleep!" KayKay said. Now seriously—"

"Megan! KayKay!" Ron burst into the room. Before he could continue, KayKay let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Oh, I get it . . . great prank you guys, now take the charm off of the window and reset my clock so I can get back to sleep."

"Young man, where is your visitor's pass?" Megan asked in a scandalized tone.

"Prank? What prank? I didn't—"

"Megan, shut up with the radio commentary already!" KayKay exclaimed, settling her feet on the floor and standing up.

"You guys, this is—"

"You can acquire a visitor's pass at the receptionist's desk in the lobby"

"Megan, cut the comedy!"

"Really Megan, you—"

"I'm sorry, you _have_ to have a visitor's pass!" Megan interrupted Ron.

"Megan!"

"I'm serious you two—"

"Security!" Megan called.

"THERE'S BEEN ANOTHER ATTACK!" Ron shouted, ending the pandemonium. KayKay gaped at him as if she'd been slapped. Megan, however, rolled off of her bed and ducked behind it with her hands over her head.

"Security!" she screeched, "Activists! They're threatening to attack! SECURITY!"

"Megan, if you don't _shut up_, I'll slap you, I swear I will!" KayKay exclaimed.

"Two of them! _SECURITIEEE—_"

She stopped abruptly, clapping a hand to her cheek.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," KayKay said, straightening up and rubbing her hand.

"What was that for!?" Megan demanded.

"For acting like an inattentive child when somebody's been attacked!"

"What!?" Megan gasped. "When? Where?"

"Just a bit ago, I woke up and couldn't fall asleep again," Ron explained.

"Funny, I seem to have had the same problem," KayKay gave Megan a "look".

"But how could you have found it without leaving? Unless—" Megan stopped, her eyes widening.

"Not in Gryffindor _Tower!_" KayKay exclaimed, not wanting to believe it. Ron, however, nodded.

KayKay and Megan sprung into action, stumbling down the stairs behind Ron.

"Oh _no_." KayKay moaned sadly, walking immediately towards the Portrait Hole, where a young boy was sprawled.

"Oh, he's a First Year, isn't he?" Megan asked, looking at the boy. "I think his name was Innes . . ."

"Yes, he was always a sweet kid . . . I think that Sabrina Dawson liked him . . ." KayKay agreed. "What does his face say?" she asked Ron.

" 'TIME' " he answered. "But the question is how the Heir got in."

They all stood in silence for a minute, before KayKay admitted, "I really don't know. But a bigger question is, how do we get Dumbledore? We don't have any Floo Powder, or—"

"Floo Powder! That's it! KayKay, you're a genius! I'll bet a teacher left some Floo Powder in a Common Room, or that a student snuck into their Head of House's quarters!" Megan said.

"Well, let's do something about telling a teacher first, huh? Now, how—"

"What's going on here?" a voice asked.

KayKay looked down as Cocoa walked beneath her legs and sat down, looking up at her.

"Cocoa can do it!" KayKay exclaimed.

"What? Do what? What is it?" the Caranax asked fearfully.

"Please, we need Dumbledore, or Professor McGonagall." KayKay asked. "It's urgent, they need to come at once."

"What, no Common Post owl? Or maybe a . . . oh, I don't know . . . _puppy_?" Cocoa asked sarcastically.

"Cocoa, you're not _still_ jealous, are you?" KayKay asked. "Come on—"

"Cocoa, go get the Headmaster." Ron commanded. "_Now._"

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

" 'I'm the Dark One's only heir. The time has come.' " KayKay read from the paper she'd been scribbling on with her quill as the group talked. "That doesn't sound good."

"Well, you wouldn't expect it to be talking about daisies and green meadows now, would you?" Harry said sarcastically. "Of course it won't sound good."

KayKay made no indication that she'd heard him.

"The time for what, though? Obviously something bad, but what?" Ron asked, looking around the table.

Harry sighed. There wasn't anything they could do unless some new clue just popped up underneath their noses, and that didn't seem at all likely.

Hermione made some noise of irritation then dropped her head to the table, burying it in her arms.

"I'm out of ideas." She mumbled.

"That's it!" KayKay said, throwing her hands in the air in what seemed to be a gesture of helplessness. "We're dead, we're all as good as dead. If Hermione doesn't have a clue, then _nobody_ does. I'll write down requests for tombstones. Ron, what would you like yours to say?"

"Nobody is going to die!" Hermione said, taking the quill out of KayKay's hand and putting it on the table. Everyone stared at her, and Harry had to resist the impulse to laugh.

"Okay, okay, I set myself up for that one. But really, everyone acts like I'm the only intellectual. But really, there's people smarter than me . . ."

"Yeah," KayKay said, "One of which was made Head Boy for it and is now . . . what's the word? Oh yes . . . _dead!_" KayKay screeched the last word, before propping her elbows on the table and burying her face in her hands. 

Hermione mouthed over her head to Megan, "What's up with her?" Ron shook his head cluelessly and mouthed back, "No idea."

"Still no patterns in the killings, as far as I can tell." Megan said, out loud this time. "Good Lord! Why does he need and Heir anyway? He thinks he's going to live forever . . . why doesn't he grant himself that illusion? Why do we have to pay?"

"Because he isn't stupid." Harry said, sounding much less angry than he was. "He's made plans and followed steps to ensure immortality, but he knows that people can invent new spells of destruction the same way he made spells to protect against his demise. Plus, I'm sure it serves to amuse him, making the least safe place for us the one place we _should_ feel safest . . . right in the school with Dumbledore."

"Well, aren't _we_ the expert all of a sudden?" KayKay said sarcastically, not lifting her head. It almost sounded to Harry like she was crying.

"Any idiot with half of a brain can figure out at least _some_ of Voldemort's intent!" Harry snapped angrily.

"Well, then how did you find out?" KayKay asked, looking up with a mocking sneer. She _had_ been crying. Harry stood up quickly, his chair falling over behind him.

"Why are you so quick to find suspicion in what I say or do?" He asked angrily, ignoring Hermione's plea for him to sit down. "Shall we discuss you, perhaps? Like how the attacks began the very night you came back? Or how you have no alibi except for 'walking through the halls' at the time? Or maybe how you were so very conveniently the one who found the first two victims? You're hardly one to imply things, Miss Catch-Me-if-You-Can!"

KayKay had risen to her feet as Harry ranted.

"Well," she hissed, "aren't _we_ defensive? Guilty conscience? Or do you normally respond so quickly to sarcastic quips, and I just didn't notice?"

"Harry, KayKay, _think_ about who you're accusing! You both know what you . . . _possess_." Hermione said.

"All the more motive for Voldemort to use her." He said, pointing a finger at KayKay.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" KayKay exclaimed.

"What are you going to do?" Harry taunted with a sneer, "Run away? Go dashing to your _wonderful_ Head Boy, Brian, for comfort? Oh wait, my mistake, I forgot—he's _dead_."

Hermione gasped, and KayKay stumbled back almost as if she'd been struck, inhaling sharply.

"You are, without a doubt, the most horrible, cruel, stonehearted boy I've _ever_ had the misfortune of meeting," KayKay said in a menacing whisper that carried with it the shock and sadness she must have also felt. "He's—"

But whatever "He" was, Harry never heard, for KayKay turned and ran away, one hand over her face, the other guiding her way, fingertips trailing along the banister as she disappeared up the spiral staircase to her Dormitory.

Harry slowly sat back down, perfectly aware of all the disapproving looks he was being given by his friends.

"Well . . . um . . ." Ron fumbled in supplication, "So, no patterns to the attacks, eh? Horrible, that is, horrible . . . anyone else have any ideas?"

Harry listened blankly as Hermione offered her insights. He knew his friends were carefully avoiding how blunt and cruel he'd just been . . . He might eventually regret it, but right now he was just too angry. Perhaps not all the anger was due to what KayKay had said, but instead due to his state of confusion in regard to the Heir. Maybe he just needed some way to vent his frustrations, and KayKay was provocative enough to allow him to do so.

Oh well, whatever the case, Harry truly didn't care at the moment. Let KayKay cry. Angry or not, Harry didn't mind. He just wished his friends would stop looking at him that way that clearly said, "How could you be so callous?"

Maybe he would regret it later. Maybe. But maybe not. Either way, later was later.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

KayKay sighed contentedly, flopping back onto her bed. It had been a long day . . . well, at least they were finally finished with exams . . . and it was a relief to sink into a cool, comfy bed.

She had been running on pure willpower, devoting nighttime, mealtimes, and any other spare moments to studying. Sometimes she'd been lucky to get even four hours of sleep at night, so determined was she to get high marks. After all, it was counting towards her career.

And so now, after the conclusion of the Transfiguration exam, and thus the conclusion of exams altogether, she felt serene . . . perhaps it was the absence of what was normally a towering stack of homework.

Crossing "_Transfiguration: June 3rd_" off of the slip of parchment on her bedside table, she sighed happily again, pulling the hangings of her four-poster shut. Burying herself under the blankets and breathing deeply, she could nearly feel herself sinking lower into her bed and could almost hear all the different parts of her busy mind slowing down and drifting off to sleep.

Given her state of utmost calm, one would imagine her dreams to be fanciful and carefree, and true, they _began_ as such . . .

__

KayKay kicked off of the ground on her broom, letting the wind whip her hair as she breathed deeply of the fresh air. Looking around, she realized she was playing Quidditch with her friends. 

"What are you doing up there with the Beater's club?" Brian shouted up to her. KayKay looked in surprise at her right hand, which was holding the club. Funny, she hadn't had it a moment ago . . .

"Yeah KayKay, we talked about this in the recording studio," Matt said, looking odd wearing cowboy boots, his Western hat, and flying a Hobbyhorse instead of a broomstick. "While we were recording the new album."

"You're a Chaser, remember?" Hermione said from over by the goal hoops.

"You're Keeper? But . . ." KayKay protested. "I thought Ron was—"

"A Beater." Ron finished, taking her club and flying up near Megan, who was holding the other one.

"Megan? But I thought Ginny was—"

"Seeker, of course," Chad said, flying up behind her wearing a referee uniform.

"But I thought that Harry was the Seeker. Not that I care, but won't he be mad?" KayKay asked, looking at them.

"Harry?" they all echoed, looking at each other.

"Who the heck is Harry?" Ron asked.

__

And KayKay suddenly realized that she didn't know_ who Harry was, who on Earth she was talking about. She grinned and shook her head._

"Just teasing. Let's start!"

She flew down next to Brian and Matt, and they grinned at her before bolting off after the Quaffle. They'd just barely begun playing when Chad blew his whistle at KayKay.

"Foul!" he said loudly.

"What for?"

"The Snitch flew under your left knee and you didn't hit it with the Quaffle." He said, as if this much should have been obvious.

"But I didn't have the Quaffle!" she protested.

"Then you'll have to go get the Snitch, won't you? It flew over there," he pointed to a sparkling path leading into the woods. "Don't worry, we'll wait for you.

KayKay obliged, landing her broom on the path and getting off, looking behind rocks and bushes for the Snitch. She heard, quite distinctly, the flitting sound it made up ahead on the path. She began to run towards it, and the dream suddenly changed. The path was no longer glittery, bright, and broad, but dark, narrow, and crooked. And she no longer felt like she was running to_ a Snitch, but rather away from something in fear._

She turned to see how close it was to her, still not knowing what_ "it" was supposed to be until she saw it gliding through the trees with an inhuman scream._

The same glowing green snake that she'd encountered on Christmas was bearing down on her, jaws wide, fangs bared . . .

KayKay screamed and bolted straight up. She hadn't woken up from fright . . . no, that wasn't it . . . it was . . . _pain._

KayKay found herself unconsciously rubbing her left arm. Rolling up her sleeve, she gasped for air as the pain became nearly unbearable.

The tattoo upon her arm was glowing an ominous green, but that wasn't the half of it. The words had changed to read, "READY? HERE WE GO . . ."

"What is it, KayKay?" Lavender asked groggily, obviously woken by the scream. KayKay answered, but the words were not her own.

"Bad . . . bad dream" she gasped, wondering helplessly how she was saying so without wanting to. 

"Oh. All right, then." Lavender said, rolling back over and going back to sleep.

__

What was that all about? It was like someone was controlling what I said! I . . . I think I need to go downstairs and get some air. Maybe that'll help. I doubt I could go to sleep again anyhow.

Standing slowly, KayKay made her way quietly to the door, opening it only enough to squeeze through so that the room wouldn't be flooded with light. She blinked, dots swimming in front of her eyes as she adjusted to the change. Without waiting for the world to come into focus, she set off down the stairs, stopping just short at the bottom when she saw, to her surprise, that there were people sitting at a table near the fireplace.

"What are you guys doing down here?" KayKay asked as she walked over to join them. "Isn't it, like . . ."

"Eleven-thirty," Ron supplied, "not all that late. Seems everyone else was tired from exams. But we just decided to stay up."

"Yes, and we've been talking about last Saturday, haven't we, Harry?" Megan said, giving Harry a significant look. KayKay glanced at him briefly before looking again at Megan.

"See, we can't really function as friends if two of our friends hate each other." KayKay began to protest, but Megan cut her off. "You don't have to like each other," she continued, "but you don't have to be at each other's throats all the time either. Can't you just agree to not talk to each other and leave it at that? We're _all_ stressed out, and you're just making it worse."

"But he started it!" KayKay exclaimed rather childishly, pointing a finger at Harry.

" 'Don't talk about me like I'm not here!' " He mocked as way of retort.

"Chill!" Megan snapped, glaring at Harry before turning back to KayKay. "We all know that he started it, and that's why he's going to finish it."

"Come again?" KayKay asked, looking at Megan in confusion. Harry then made a sound somewhat like clearing his throat, causing everyone to look at him.

"I apologize." He said with some difficulty, not meeting her eyes. KayKay was laughing inwardly at how humorous his statement was.

Megan then looked at KayKay expectantly. She would have very much liked to say, "Apology _not_ accepted, you bloody prat." But Megan's statements did have some wisdom to them. If she just accepted his apology for saying such cruel things regarding her and Brian, then everyone would be at least a little more at ease. Refusing, however, would lead to more bickering, more stress, more anger, and no solutions.

Thus were KayKay's reasons for replying, just as stiffly, "Apology accepted."

__

But not returned, she thought. _I may have not been a regular Mary Jane when you were a jerk, Harry, but at least I didn't make below-the-belt comments about _your _friends!_

"So, any other reasons that you guys are up?" KayKay asked.

"No, besides the fact that sleep was eluding us. You were lucky to be able to sleep." Ron said, punctuating this statement with a wide yawn.

"Don't Ron, you're going to make me s-s-sleepy," Hermione said, failing to stifle a yawn. "See?"

"No actually, not lucky." KayKay said, feeling that her dream needed to be shared. "I had a bad dream, I was running through the forest—"

"The Forbidden Forest?" Ron interrupted.

"_No_, the Emerald Forest of Oz." KayKay drawled sarcastically.

"Oz?" Ron echoed blankly.

"Nevermind," KayKay said, shaking her head. "But that snake that I saw on Christmas was there. It came charging at me, and that's when I woke up—"

"Short dream," Megan commented.

"No, see the thing is, I woke up, and my tattooed arm was _burning_. It—"

"Well, you saw the snake, maybe it triggered part of your memory." Megan said.

KayKay tried again, getting thoroughly frustrated by this point. "No, it was because—"

"Or maybe the Heir made another move and attacked someone else—"

"Or maybe they did _this!_" KayKay exclaimed, pushing her sleeve up to reveal the new words. Megan took one look at them and jumped up from her chair with a shriek, covering her eyes.

"No, no, no!" she yelled, "No, stop, I don't—sorry everyone, technical difficulties, but we're back!"

"Megan, now _really_ isn't the time—" Hermione began.

"Time! Time, young lady, time!" Megan shouted, pointing a finger at Hermione. "I'm late for—no, it's early, too early for—what is time? Why do we have time? _The soul does not keep track of time, for the soul is eternal—ashes to ashes, dust to dust—_And time keeps ticking away! As the past gets further past, the future looms ever closer, and with it, the arrival of destiny!"

KayKay stared at her friend in wide-eyed shock, as did the rest of the group. Megan was speaking in her radio voice, as was normal, but she was in a frenzy!

"Neither time, nor space, nor culture, nor gender, nor society can change the beating of human hearts!" Megan pushed over a chair, her eyes wild. "No measurement is anticlimactic, so thus comes the conflict that plagues men! War, battles, disputes, plans, plots, all centered about the pinnacle of time, the apex, the climax . . . _'Behold' he says, 'be ready, for I shall come soon!'_ Soon, soon, I shall come soon! Be assured of this, I shall not delay! Do not rebuke me, for it has been wrought slowly and shall occur in due time!

"Kayleigh Determan!" Megan pushed herself onto the table and stood up, towering over her friend. "You know this! You what is and is to be! Destiny changes for no one—"

A sudden change seemed to come about Megan, and she continued a bit less aggressively, a cloudy look coming into her eyes. "Miss Determan, congratulations! You win a free call to Madame Charvonte's Psychic Hotline! I shall—"

She shook her head roughly and she continued in her passionate way.

"_ 'The time draws near. The Heir of he, the Dark Lord, the Master, is no longer dormant—_' "

KayKay blanched and stood up, shaking. How could Megan know, how could she have found out? She had told _no one_ about Professor Trelawney's prophecy!

"Megan, what are you . . . how did you . . ."

" '_No, not even the Heir knew their destiny, but it has already begun. Indeed, in these times the danger is greater than ever before—_' " 

"Megan, _stop!_ This isn't funny!" KayKay shouted, not paying attention to the fact that now everyone else was looking at her with nearly as much shock and confusion as they were giving Megan.

" '_The Heir shall not die, no matter what attempts are made . . ._' Isn't that so, Kayleigh, young, childish Kayleigh?" Megan asked.

"Megan, why are you doing this?!" KayKay asked in panic, unconsciously taking a step back as Megan jumped off of the table and landed in front of her. "Why are you—"

"Why? _Why?_ 'Why us, why must it be on our hands, we're just children!' The time draws near, but 'No! We are only children, that's all, only children! Why does it fall to us?' They're always there, watching from the sidelines, but do the qualified ones help? Huh? Nooo, they sit in their plush office chairs in their Ministry of Magic offices and bar out the outside world. 'Nevermind them, they're just children!'

"But he knows that! The Dark Lord can see it, can hear it, so that's where he works—wherever the Ministry _isn't_, he _is_. Why?!"

She kicked over another chair, and KayKay stepped back involuntarily again.

"And we could be crying out for help!" she yelled. Her screams seemed not to be directed at her friends, but at some disembodied deity that it would seem only she knew of. " We could be begging, pleading, wishing, praying, but no one could know! No one could know because they're too busy ignoring us, or those who aren't assume it's stress, fear, exasperation—_GOOD LORD, WHY US, WHY ME, WHY US, WE'RE JUST CHILDREN!_"

Megan collapsed to her knees, clutching her head and wincing. KayKay took a step closer, and Harry was getting out of his chair when Megan screeched again.

"No! No, I'm just a kid, we're all just kids! No, no, no! Why? _Why?_ NO!"

With this final scream, Megan fell silent again, hunched over so far that her forehead nearly touched the carpet, motionless in all aspects but breathing.

"Megan?" KayKay ventured cautiously, lowering herself to her knees next to her friend. She only glanced briefly at Harry, who was rubbing his scar, but otherwise mirroring KayKay's actions.

There was no response from Megan, so KayKay put a hand on her shoulder. "Megan?"

The girl responded instantly to the touch, her head snapping up and her arms shooting out and latching onto KayKay and Harry's wrists. Her eyes were intense, focused, but without a trace their host in them, her grin was that of a maniac, and her grip was hard, tight, and rough. 

This all registered immediately for KayKay, who'd known the girl from six years by this time and knew immediately that this wasn't right, that something ominous was lingering on the horizon. KayKay tried to pull her arm away, but Megan jerked her closer and, without so much as a trace of her normal self, hissed, "Ready? Here we go."

The lights all went out in the same instant that they all disappeared in a flash of green light, the darkness howling as KayKay thought, _This can't be happening!_

The next thing she knew was darkness.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Ugh . . . my head . . ." Harry moaned quietly. It felt like a jackhammer had been let loose inside his brain and was now attempting to split his skull open with a horrible headache.

"Well it's about time you woke up!" an all-too-familiar voice said peevishly. "I've been trying to think of an escape plan for the past half hour, and it would be nice if I knew all of our assets."

Harry cracked open his eyes and sat up slowly, wincing even though light was dim. KayKay was sitting on a thin, rickety bench with her back against a cold, damp, and mildewed stone wall. Harry questioned why she'd lean up against something so filthy, knowing the utter disgust the girl normally had concerning such things, but what he ended up asking was different.

"Where are we?"

"Looks like the dungeons of the old Riddle house to me." KayKay replied, as calmly as if they were discussing the weather. "This is where they kept me last Spring. Of course, that time they had my wrists shackled up. I'm glad to see that they didn't bother this time. It wasn't very enjoyable."

She didn't look around much as she spoke, just kept her head tilted back against the wall, as if she didn't have enough strength within her to move.

"Do you have your watch?" she asked with a trace of hope in her voice.

His watch. Such a simple asset, but the thing that had saved their lives the year before. If it hadn't been for the portal to Hogwarts magically embedded in his watch, they would never have made it back. The watch could save their lives, even right now.

Except he didn't have it.

"No . . . I didn't wear it today." He said slowly.

"Great. Freaking great. The _one_ thing that could save out lives right now, and you don't have it!"

"Hey, it's not like I _planned_ on being captured by Voldemort today, all right?" Harry snapped. "If I had known, I—"

"I know, I know . . ." KayKay sighed, taking Harry by surprise. She wasn't going to argue with him? _That_ was odd . . .

"It's not your fault. It's just that it'd be nice to have _someone_ to blame . . ." KayKay continued wearily. 

"I know what you mean." Harry said.

"Do you realize that this is the first time in _months_ that we've agreed on something?" KayKay asked him.

"Yeah, well, escape plans are easier to make when people are getting along."

"I can see the logic in that. Okay, so how did we get here?"

"Are you really asking that? You know as well as I do that it was—"

__

"That two-faced, conniving little bit—"

__

"Madison?" KayKay gasped, scrambling to the other end of the bench and pulling herself into a standing position so the could look through a high barred window.

"_KayKay?_" the source of the angry voice asked incredulously. "You're here too?"

"Yeah, Harry also." Harry heard what sounded like Madison standing on her bench, and her voice became clearer.

"Who brought _you_ guys here?"

"As you put so eloquently, 'That two-faced, conniving little bit—' "

"KayKay, Madison, now may not be the best time to talk about Megan's idiocy over how we're going to get away." Harry interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah, another logical point. Madison, do you have any ideas?" KayKay asked through the window.

"Nada. We don't seem to have many options available to us, do we? I'm surprised you both are so calm though . . ."

"Yeah, well, Harry just woke up, and a few Death Eaters already stopped down to ensure that I didn't have much spare energy, if you get what I mean."

Oh, so they'd used the Cruciatus Curse on her. That explained why she wasn't strong enough to sit up without leaning against the wall.

"You know, Madison, I don't get how Megan got you here. She took us from the Common Room, but . . ."

"She popped up in my Dormitory. Hell if _I_ know how she got there! She didn't even say anything when I started yelling at her about being in Slytherin's Dormitory, just grabbed me with this insane look in her eyes! Next thing I knew . . ." Madison trailed off.

"You were here." KayKay finished. "I wonder why she'd want you, though . . ."

"Hello? Madison? KayKay? Escape plan?" Harry prompted. "We're kinda running short on time, in case you didn't notice!"

"We noticed, okay?" KayKay snapped. "All right, does anyone know how to make a Portkey?"

Everyone was silent, and KayKay growled in frustration.

"I'll take that as a 'No', then." 

She sighed, leaning her head against the cold and clammy dungeon wall. She began hitting her forehead against the stone lightly, then her expression grew even more frustrated and she began to hit it harder.

"KayKay, what are you _doing?_" Madison asked.

"Isn't—" _thud_, "—it—" _thud_, "—obvious?" _thud_, "I'm trying—" _thud_, "—to find—" _thud_, "—a secret—" _thud_, "—_exit!_"

She let her head hit the wall with a final "thud" and left it there, sighing deeply. Harry felt just as frustrated. For once, he had _time_ to get away, and there were no options!

"Come on guys, there _must_ be a way out!" Madison exclaimed.

"Yeah, preferably one we can discover within the next few minutes?" Harry suggested anxiously.

"So sorry, Mr. Potter," a voice said coldly, "but I do believe that your time just ran out."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~ *~ *

KayKay turned quickly in surprise at the new voice, all of her hopes snuffed when she saw the Death Eater at the door. Behind him were five others.

"_Alohomora._" the one in front said, tapping the lock that had confined them to their cell.

"Hey, why didn't _we_ think of that?" Madison asked from the cell next-door.

"Maybe because we don't have our wands? Crazy-Evil-Man Rule 101: keep victims unarmed." KayKay told her through the window.

"That's enough Determan! Now come with us peacefully, and your friends won't get hurt." The Death Eater commanded. KayKay laughed inwardly at this outright lie.

"And this," KayKay said to Madison as she hopped off of the bench, "is called playing onto the hands of the bad guy. It's a classic good guy blunder."

"Yeah, yeah, enough of the comedy." A different Death Eater growled, grabbing KayKay roughly by the arm and all but dragging her out of the room.

"Didn't your teachers always tell you to keep your hands to yourself?" KayKay snapped, yanking her arm away. "I can walk unassisted, thank you very much!"

"Didn't your parents ever tell you not to sass your betters?" the man hissed in angrily, taking her arm again.

"It doesn't seem that there are any of them around though, now does it?" KayKay said, not even seeing his hand as it flew across her face, nor hearing Madison's cry of outrage. As it was, it took her a full five seconds to register the pain of her cheek and the iron taste flooding her mouth as she bit her cheek.

"Jerkins, don't bloody up the prisoners too much. That's the Master's job." He laughed, and the sound of it sent chills up KayKay's spine. Only then did fear set in. She and Harry had escaped by pure luck last time—it was hard to expect that they'd manage to do so now.

KayKay looked over her shoulder at Madison. She could barely believe that not long ago they had hated each other. Why was it again? Oh yes, their meeting at boot camp. Back then she wouldn't have been surprised a bit if someone said Madison or her parents were in league with Voldemort. But now . . .

Madison's eyes met hers, and KayKay tried to give the girl a reassuring smile. Goodness, she looked nothing short of petrified! Of course, KayKay had been scared the first time she'd run in to Voldemort too.

That wasn't to say that she wasn't frightened now. She was plenty scared, but the majority of her mind was numb with fatigue. Her state of unconsciousness hadn't really offered much as far as rejuvenation went.

Actually, it hadn't offered much as far as _anything_ went.

KayKay looked back again at Madison, and got a sick feeling in her stomach at the way one of the Death Eaters was examining the girl as he led her.

"What's with this new one, anyhow?" he asked loudly. He didn't sound much older than Harry and Ron.

"The Dark Lord and his Heir have their reasons. I'm not about to question them. But if _you_ wish to . . ." the other Death Eater trailed off, his tone indicating perfectly what would happen if any of them second-guessed what their master ordered them to do.

"Well, if he's just going to kill her anyhow, can I have her first? She's a pretty little thing, and I'm _sure_ she's—"

He was interrupted by Harry and KayKay's furious threats. 

"If you lay so much as one finger on her—"

"You do _anything_ and I'll make sure you wish you'd never been _born!_"

"You sick, disgusting, son of a—"

"SILENCE!" a Death Eater near the front bellowed. "You shall do no such thing, Sendon—"

"Thank God . . ." KayKay murmured, and Madison sighed gratefully.

"—Without first asking the Dark Lord," he finished with a dark and twisted grin. Madison's expression of relief fled immediately.

"Oh, believe that I will." Sendon grinned. KayKay was filled with an urge to punch him, and she struggled in the grip of her captors.

"Now, there's one for you, Jarrin. You like yours feisty, don't you?" Sendon laughed to the Death Eater on the other side of Madison. KayKay felt a sick sense of foreboding in the pit of her stomach.

"Yes, but I'm afraid the Dark Lord doesn't want to give me _this_ particular one. Has it in for her. Of course, maybe he wouldn't mind . . . he could let me break her spirit before he kills her off . . . perhaps I should suggest it to him. If I explain that if he gives me this lady, I'd leave her worse off—"

"I am _no_ man's lady!" KayKay said sharply, still tugging in an attempt to free herself and get at least one swing at a Death Eater. "And I wouldn't even call _you_ a man . . . you're a filthy, stinking coward, not fit to breathe the same _air_ as any human being! How _dare_ you—"

"Nasty little temper, though . . ." Jarrin said simply.

"Are you going to let her talk to you like that?"

"Certainly not." Jarrin said, flicking his wand at KayKay calmly. "_Crucio_."

The pain had barely begun before it was lifted.

"Sendon! Jarrin! Quell your adolescent hormones at least long enough to deliver the prisoners to the Dark Lord!" the Death Eater in front ordered. "Then, and only then may you present your ideas to him."

KayKay and Madison exchanged troubled looks. KayKay personally preferred to _die_ than have a murderer take advantage of her. Trying to calm herself, to insist that Voldemort would _not_ want to wait any longer to terminate her, KayKay looked ahead again.

Harry looking back at her. His expression was troubled, but encouraging and determined. It served to strengthen KayKay's resolve, and also to fascinate the shred of her mind not focused on their predicament. At Hogwarts, it was KayKay versus Harry. They'd argued constantly, and didn't so much as look at one another when they could help it.

However, here in the clutches of Voldemort, they were a team. So even though they'd resume their arguing if (_When_ KayKay's mind corrected) they got to Hogwarts, right now they were on the same side again, and whatever happened to one of them affected all three. It just seemed to prove that as long as Voldemort was around, whoever wasn't _for_ the Dark side was on the same team.

The idea that they were able to be in the same vicinity without tearing each other's heads off was reassuring. 

__

I just wish we had some sort of plan! And what role does Megan play in all of this? She couldn't be . . . she's a Gryffindor! How could she possibly have caused so much pain?

Of course, her thoughts reasoned, _she IS psychic. That may be why she's been acting weird . . . maybe she could tell who the Heir was, and they started playing with her mind so she wouldn't be able to identify him. Or her._

KayKay's thoughts were cut short as the men holding her shoved her into a large room. Death Eaters lined the walls, and some were already coming forward to hold Harry. KayKay could tell that it was almost time.

What could they possibly do about it?

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The doors on the other end of the room flew open with a bang, and the pain in Harry's scar grew considerably worse. Before even glimpsing the person who strode into the room, all the Death Eaters dropped to one knee, forcing Harry down with them.

__

This is it, Harry thought as his face nearly touched the paneled floor, _he's here. And we have no plan, no ides, no assets . . . and for all I know, the other two might be . . ._

His insides grew cold at the thought. Whether they got along or not, Harry did _not_ want those Death Eaters . . . Sendon and Jarrin . . . to have their way with Madison and KayKay. For all he knew, that area of their lives could very well be the only part not tainted by Voldemort and his followers.

Never mind the fact that it was low, cowardly, and one of the most evil acts available to them!

The Death Eaters rose, and Harry got to his feet, watching as Voldemort slowly walked to the center of the room.

__

There must be a way out! Harry thought wildly, searching his mind frantically for an option. _There MUST be!_

"My Lord," a Death Eater said, walking forward. "A request and idea from two of my fellows under my station . . ."

The same man who'd led the group when they were brought from the dungeons . . . the one who'd seemed to be in charge . . . spoke humbly to Voldemort, relaying Sendon and Jargon's plan. The expressions on the other Death Eater's faces ranged from amused smirks to doubtful frowns, but Voldemort's expression and tone remained neutral.

"And whose idea was this?" he questioned when the Death Eater had finished. "Tell him to come forward at once."

"Sendon! Jarrin!" the Death Eater commanded, beckoning them closer.

"An intriguing idea. What motivated it? What factor caused you to consider that it was preferable to my well-laid plans?"

Jarrin seemed to sense the implications of these words and remained wisely silent, bowing his head and stepping back. But Sendon didn't seem to catch it.

"Just came from the top of my head, my Lord. I mean, would it not be better to first break their spirit? Scar them for—"

"Crucio!" Voldemort flicked his wand almost lazily, making Sendon fall the floor and shriek in pain.

"If it was better," he said quietly, words laced with malice as he stood above the panting Death Eater, "I would have ordered it to be so. Get up! Out of my sight!"

Sendon quickly complied, struggling to his feet and scrambling back among the ranks. Jarrin had already done so, though not in such a panicked manner. 

Across the room, Harry could see both KayKay and Madison visibly relax, their relief evident by the looks on their faces.

"When I give an order," Voldemort addressed the group, "it is the ultimate authority. Do not approach me with suggestions for a better plan. If it were better, I would have told you to do it in the first place. If I ever want your opinion on something, I shall ask you myself. Your ideas and suggestions are worthless to me."

He moved his gaze to Harry, then KayKay, and then Madison, each in turn.

"How wonderful of you to join us this evening, my young friends. We could spend quite a bit of our time exchanging pleasantries, could we not? However, I never was one for tedious small talk. Besides, there's someone I wish to introduce to you . . . and if my sources are correct, you're eager to meet them, too."

__

The Heir Harry thought immediately, and he could tell that it was what the others were thinking as well. And, as if on cue, the doors Voldemort had walked through not much earlier opened again . . . albeit more gracefully. 

As the Heir swept in, Death Eaters closed the door once again, and those lining the walls bowed. The Heir was donned in hooded black robes trimmed with embroidered snakes along the hem and cuffs . . . the hood shadowed the person's face, but that didn't remain a problem for very long.

"Ah, and my Heir arrives." Voldemort said approvingly as the person in question bowed to him. Then, standing and turning to face Harry and the others, the Heir raised manicured hands and lowered the hood.

Across the way, KayKay scowl darkened, with a trace of surprise detectable on her face. Harry's reaction closely mirrored hers, he was certain, for the person under the robes was somewhat suspected, yet still not expected.

Madison was the only one to voice her thoughts.

"You!" She growled. "You filthy little—"

"Now, now." Megan chastised, tossing her head slightly to shake her hair back and brushing imaginary dust from her elaborate robes. "Manners, Madison, manners. Making me angry shouldn't be high on your to-do list at the moment."

She smiled malevolently. To Harry, the sight was awkward, artificial, for he was so unaccustomed to seeing Megan sport such an expression.

And for that matter, he was unaccustomed to even the _idea_ that Megan could be the Heir . . . and the fact that she was simply standing there, at ease, relaying the message that she couldn't care less about betraying her friends.

"So, KayKay." Megan asked, casually studying her nails, "I trust you enjoyed your dreams? Some of my finer work, I must say—"

"How could you do this to all of those people? How could you do this to _us?!_" KayKay demanded angrily. "It would be one thing if your weren't _trying_ to do it, the same way Ginny wasn't trying to open the Chamber . . . what's _wrong_ with you?!"

"My, quite a temper you have, Kayleigh," Voldemort said disapprovingly. He circled behind Megan and placed his hands on her shoulders. He smiled, or rather, smirked in satisfaction before finishing.

"I must ask you to refrain from speaking that way towards my _granddaughter._"

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

There were cries of shock from all three teenagers. Madison's expression was of disgust mingled with surprise. Harry looked as if he was going to be ill. KayKay looked at Megan in wide-eyed astonishment.

"[I]_Your[/_I] granddaughter?" she asked, not wishing to believe it.

"But of course. You sound surprised, Kayleigh. I _certainly_ wasn't planning on choosing an Heir who didn't share my blood."

"But Megan—blood wouldn't matter to her! She wouldn't do something like this of her own free will simply because she was your _granddaughter!_"

"Oh, wouldn't she? Very well, I shall tell you. Killing you in an hour instead of now won't make much difference to me

"When I was young . . . not very far out of Hogwarts, just starting to initiate my well-laid plans . . . I knew already that I would need an heir. Not because I lacked faith in my immortality, but because with an heir, I could ensure that my reign of terror would never be vanquished.

"It did not take me long to find someone to host such a child. A Veela cooperated, after some persuasion. Even then I laid my spells carefully. This Heir, when they came, had to comply to my will with ease and, in case by that time I did not know the child, an awareness had to be automatically invoked within them once they were powerful enough.

"The Veela gave birth to a girl some time later. I do not know what she called her. I've never been much of a father figure myself. I know that one of my followers knows the woman's name, and I shall explain why. 

"The girl grew, graduated her wizarding school, and set off into the world. By a favorable twist of fate, she met another young man, one who had recently graduated Hogwarts and joined my ranks.

"I feel no need to explain the situation that unfolded, but the point is that the pair were not married. The pregnancy that resulted was unintentional. Now, while any other woman would have been able to kill the child before birth, I had also taken precautions in case such a situation arose. 

"The girl fled to the United States to avoid interrogation from her friends and family. She raised her baby girl to the age of one in their small apartment . . ."

KayKay looked at Megan, expecting—heck, even _hoping for_—some sort of reaction. Her entire family history was being retold, and it sounded dark and dastardly.

But the girl remained unresponsive, a small cynical smile playing on her lips. This frightened KayKay even more, eluded to the idea that her friend _was_ doing all of this of her own free will.

"Feeling trapped, unable to raise the child to an age where she'd begin to ask prying questions about the identity of her father, the woman left the girl at an orphanage in California, far away from where she'd first raised her in Kansas. I took even more precautions to ensure that her file was never looked at in any adoption agency, and after my return to power, I took measures to get her placed at Hogwarts on a supposed exchange program, the same way I did to you, Kayleigh." Voldemort's gaze flickered to KayKay. "I doubt that the girl's father even knew she was his . . . am I correct, Malfoy?"

No murmurs swept the room, but all heads turned to look at Lucius. Voldemort didn't wait to continue his story.

"This year, the time came. By my understanding, it was shortly after you returned to England, Kayleigh. So, while the fact that you lived through the Summer did not please me, your presence at Hogwarts unintentionally helped the process along."

KayKay felt as if she'd been robbed of air for a moment. _She_ had helped? How so? If it weren't for her, would Megan have even _become_ the Heir?

"I'm certain that even she didn't intend for it to happen, but the moment she came in contact with you, the small part of her destiny that had already been awoken leeched off of some of your powers. Probably not enough for you to feel anything, nor enough to affect them, but it was enough to trigger the spells I'd laid and make them begin working within her.

"She didn't even realize she was doing it at first. After all, her subconscious mind took over every time that I desired her to rid the school of another student. She aimed low at first, unaccustomed to her new magic . . . a couple First Years here, another First Year there . . ."

It was disgusting! Someone talking so humorously about death, about killing, saying it as simply and leisurely as a normal person would comment on the time of day!

It was horrible, grotesque, it even made her feel sick, yet KayKay couldn't help but listen. Her desire to understand was too great to tune Voldemort out, and perhaps by listening she could devise a way to escape by the information they were given.

" . . . Then, she began to fight her instincts. As you've seen, she'd have tirades, and during these she'd try to drop in hints of what was going to happen because she couldn't speak outright. As it was, I made sure she could barely suggest anything at all, but she found ways to slip some clues into what she was saying.

"They obviously weren't prominent enough for any of you to take notice. She began fighting harder, and one day she actually stopped herself in the middle of an attack. This could have proved to be the end of her tyranny, but the girl luckily didn't spot her face—"

__

That must have been Valentine's Day, KayKay thought. _Sabrina said that someone wearing dark robes sent something out of their wand towards her, but that whatever it was circled back. It must have been Megan fighting the control . . . so does that mean that she didn't really want to do it?_

"I knew I had to act. Putting some of my own power over her, I dictated some of her actions, making certain that it did not happen again. The extra magic bent her to my will, but she kept a wall up in her mind, still exercising some free thought. 

"It began to drive her mad, having an inkling of what she was doing yet not being able to stop it. It damaged at least part of her mind, and she began to go into her rages more desperately, trying to communicate her problems while also trying to fight me off. It was amusing."

Voldemort laughed his high, cold laugh and KayKay wanted very much to do something, _anything_ to him to get him to stop. He was horrible, he was vile, he was—

"I had to break that barrier both to keep her from going insane and to get to you. Last night was the opportune time. The surge of power I used may have destroyed some of her previous thoughts or memories. It does not matter. It only makes her a better heir, doesn't it?"

It was obviously not intended as a question, but Madison jumped in with a reply before KayKay could catch her eyes and convey that it was a stupid idea.

"Oh yes, so admirable. Your ability to work through kids instead of showing your cowardly face is nothing short of amazing" Madison drawled.

"Crucio!" Voldemort's curse was his means of retort. KayKay watched as Madison screamed, no longer supporting herself but instead being held up by the Death Eaters confining her. 

It was an unwise decision to mouth off. They had barely any strength as it was for lack of sleep, and being hit with the Cruciatus was no way to conserve that energy.

"So, you dare to mock me?" Voldemort asked, standing above Madison, who was trying to regain her breath. "You will soon find out what an unwise decision it is that you've made.

"They've been told enough." Voldemort said, looking at Megan, who smiled in reply.

"Indeed. This has been dragged out for too long." She said, walking closer to KayKay, her lip curling. "I'm growing impatient."

"Is this the part where we fight for our lives?" KayKay asked. "Mind if I take a nap first? Being captured by the Heir of Voldemort, being brought to his lair, and having the Cruciatus Curse exercised on you robs a lot of your energy . . ."

"_Serpensortia!_" Megan interrupted, whipping out her wand and sending a snake towards KayKay. The Death Eaters holding her let go and stepped away as the serpent advanced.

"That's a no then, I guess . . ." KayKay said, instinctively reaching a hand into her robes. Discovering she was in jeans and a tee shirt rather than her robes, she dropped her hand to her back pocket. It wasn't there.

__

Of course it isn't, you idiot! Megan probably took it when she brought you here! 

Or is it on my dresser? I hate it when this happens! Not that it happens often . . . she thought, backing away slowly as the snake slithered closer. _Is there a shovel around here? A good downward thrust will take that snake's head right off._

She stopped her train of thoughts and listened to the conversation around her, something grabbing her attention. Harry was . . . hissing? Did he actually think it would help?

KayKay gasped in surprise as the snake dropped back, looking at Harry intently before giving him what she swore was a nod and turning towards Megan.

__

Oh, he's a Parselmouth . . . I get it! Well, whatever he said to that snake, I'm, grateful . . .

Of course, her ease was short-lived, as Megan made the snake disappear with another wave of her wand.

"Are we done playing then?" she asked, snapping her fingers at a Death Eater while not taking her eyes off of KayKay. The Death Eater hurried to an ornate table on the other side of the room.

KayKay didn't reply. She had to do something! It was the worst paradox . . . a kill or be killed situation against her best friend! There _had_ to be another way!

"I'll take your silence as a 'Yes'," Megan said, holding out her hands for the object that the Death Eater returned with. It was long, slender, and wrapped in ornate cloth. She unwrapped it and pulled out . . . a _sword_?!

"Ready?" She gave a sporting grin. "Here we go."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ *

The Death Eaters holding Harry let go and shoved him forward the moment Megan unwrapped the sword. The room was tossed into a state of pandemonium, and somewhere among the noise and action, Harry's wand was tossed to him.

"Care to duel, Potter?" a Death Eater walked towards Harry as his comrades closed them into a circle. "Crucio!"

As the pain hit Harry, he remembered all too clearly a similar situation that had occurred two years prior. At least this duel was against a Death Eater. He doubted that Voldemort would let anyone else finish him off for good.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted, leaping to his feet as soon as he was able. He ducked as the Death Eater's wand flew over his head. "Stupefy!"

__

Okay, one buffoon down, only . . . Harry looked around the room in a hurry and got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, _. . . a few hundred to go._

Harry ducked again as another Death Eater shot a curse at him. He tried his best to see what situation the others were in as he defended himself.

Madison was faring just about the same as he was. She was warding off Death Eaters, but there were so many of them! Perhaps he could figure out a way to get to her. They could watch each other's backs.

Disarming another Death Eater, Harry changed his position slightly in order to get a glimpse of KayKay between the Death Eaters.

She was only faced off against Megan, but Harry would have bet anything that her predicament was worst of all. Megan had in her hand a sword . . . was that Godric Gryffindor's sword? The one he pulled out of the Sorting Hat in the Chamber?

His attention was drawn away by a burning spell he hadn't seen the Death Eaters cast. Cursing, he put it out with water from his wand and got rid of the Death Eater with a hasty "stupefy". Holding the Death Eaters off seemed easy . . . _too_ easy. Perhaps Voldemort only meant to play with their mind, wear them out, while he dealt with KayKay. 

It seemed plausible to Harry. He looked over at KayKay again. Indeed, she had it hardest. She didn't even have a wand to defend herself with. Even if she did, he doubted she'd use it against Megan. 

__

It must be horrible, Harry thought._ Seeing your best friend as a Dark Lord's heir, having them intent on hurting you, even _killing_ you . . ._

Right now, KayKay was dodging the sword that Megan was slashing lazily. KayKay looked like she was talking . . . was she trying to reason with Megan?

Harry returned to paying attention to his own predicament. It seemed that there were as many Death Eaters around him as when he'd begun, no doubt they had been reviving the ones he'd knocked out.

__

Concentrate! he told himself. _You need to get to Madison!_

But how? The circle surrounding him was tightly knit, and around that circle was _another_ one. If he could find some way to distract them, or maybe if he could take them by surprise, he'd be able to slip by.

However, he was short on ideas and he had little room to spare for stray thoughts besides dodging this curse or blocking that curse. Disarming another Death Eater, Harry this time caught the wand and snapped it in half over his knee.

There. That would buy him a bit more time.

As he basked in a second of rest, he again considered his problem. To just go for it would be too predictable, and he probably wouldn't get another opportunity. It'd be nice if the Death Eaters simply went blind for a minute or so . . .

That was it! Blind! Okay, he didn't know blinding magic, per se, but he could send something at them to obscure their view!

"Hazatio!" Harry shouted, sending a thick fog towards the Death Eaters. He ducked and slipped through a gap between some of the Death Eaters, momentarily pleased with his success.

This bout of pride was cut short by a hard shove to his chest that sent him back into the center of the circle. It didn't take him more than a moment to realize his mistake.

He'd forgotten about the outer rank. His fog had covered his escape from being discovered by those directly surrounding him, but it hadn't extended to the next row of Death Eaters.

Okay, time for plan B . . . what's plan B?

Harry felt his wand fly from his hand and he cursed himself for not being more attentive. The Death Eater responsible for the deed stood in front of him, smirking as he held Harry's wand up tauntingly.

__

Okay, Plan B is to get my wand, then to—

The need to dodge another curse distracted him. Throwing himself flat on the floor, the strangest thought popped into Harry's head in place of the previous one.

__

This floor really_ needs to be cleaned._

Shaking away such crazy ideas, Harry looked up, ready to jump to his feet. Something made him stop, though.

KayKay was still facing off against Megan, but rather than girl against girl, Megan was faced off against KayKay in her Animagus form of a wolf. KayKay seemed to be dodging and weaving around Megan, trying to get the sword but not wanting to hurt Megan _or_ herself in the process, which seemed to be an impossible task.

It gave Harry the rest of his plan B. Transforming quickly to a wolf, he threw his weight against the Death Eater above him, catching his wand in his mouth as it fell.

Of any courses of action he could have taken, this seemed to be the last the Death Eaters had expected. A few stumbled back, one even gasped before he caught himself. 

Harry feinted left, then ran to the right, not stopping as he barreled into a Death Eater. As a matter of fact, he used the dark wizard almost like a springboard, leaping over the second row of Death eaters and knocking down a few of the outer ones surrounding Madison.

"What the . . .?" A Death Eater looked at the man next to him, who by the way he saw it, had spontaneously fallen of his own accord.

Harry swallowed a wolfish laugh and plowed past the last few Death eaters, stopping himself with skidding paws in front of a most frightened looking Madison.

"Thought you could use some backup," Harry said, after he'd transformed back into himself and pulled his wand out of his mouth. "Besides, we have better chances if there's two of us. Expelliarmus!"

Harry caught the wand that came zooming towards him, and like the one before, snapped it in half. Madison looked like she was going to laugh for a moment, but she only nodded.

"Together. Got it." She said, and she and Harry stood back to back. Fighting on a team almost made it feel like a game, like movies of Sheriffs and Deputies and gun-shooting Desperados. Harry had no clue where the image came from, but it was an amusing thought all the same, and made the situation seem lighter.

"Duck!" Megan shouted suddenly, taking Harry by surprise. He complied just in time, as a shot of red light passed a few inches above his head making his hair ruffle.

"Thanks." He said as they stood back up. That was a close—"

There was sudden, pained howl that morphed into a human scream. Madison, who was facing the area KayKay and Megan were battling in, gave a sudden gasp.

"KayKay!" 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ *

KayKay felt herself transform back to normal as she fell, one hand instinctively flying to her side, the other held awkwardly to protect her head from the impact. 

She had leapt up (as a wolf, of course) and tried to distract Megan so that on her next pass, she could knock into the girl's arm and hopefully make her drop the sword. 

As was obvious, it hadn't worked so well.

To KayKay, the ground felt harder than it should have as she fell. As her body met it, her breath was knocked out of her, as if she had sighed deeply.

She was tired, so tired, so tired. She and Megan had been playing Cat and Mouse for who knew how long by now, and all she wished to do was sleep. To drift away on a cloud, and never return again.

KayKay groaned as she faced upward and opened her eyes. The room was spinning, dizzily spinning, the colors and noises all blending together. Someone was screaming . . . she heard a scream . . . wait, was that _her?_ Was the noise coming from _her?_

Moving a hand over her mouth, KayKay was surprised as the noise quieted. It _had_ been her! It was so odd, for it to come as a shock . . . she nearly felt like she wasn't there, that she wasn't with herself.

But yet, when the screaming stopped, so did the spinning. The room came into focus just in time for KayKay to see Megan above her with the sword raised, ready to come down upon her neck.

She yelped in surprise, rolling over and up to her feet as the sword swooshed down, taking some of her hair with it. Megan growled in what KayKay recognized as annoyance, and slashed the sword again. Either KayKay was getting slower and more worn out, or Megan was getting faster and more agitated . . . KayKay thought it could quite possibly have been both. 

Whatever the case, Megan's swings were getting more accurate and furious, and KayKay's mind was getting groggier, making every pass harder and harder to dodge.

__

There must be a way to break through to her, to reach the Megan that I know is inside! KayKay thought wildly, jumping left to avoid a forward thrust. _If I can make her remember . . . make her remember about our friendship and our memories . . . I might just be able to break the control!_

"Megan!" she tried, keeping the sword in her view. "Megan, remember that time when Chad kept pulling pranks on you during our Third Year? And we would stay up late thinking of ways to get back at him?" she ducked a swing that passed over her head. "Remember how we made all his robes pink and made confetti come out of his ears?"

KayKay stumbled backwards a few paces as she tripped over a loose floorboard, still moving backwards and watching Megan. She waved her arms to regain her balance and kept talking.

"And then, it turned out that he liked you! Remember that? And you thought that it was _so_ ridiculous that you said yes when he asked if you'd date him?"

She yelped again as the sword whipped past her face, only a good three inches from her nose.

"Okay, maybe you don't want to talk about it . . . but what about on our first trip to Escondito, when we found out that we both played guitar? Man, we had fun that day . . . I think that at some point we had a crowd of people listening. Wasn't that awesome? Whoa!" KayKay tried to keep her tone light and conversational. "Watch where you're swinging that sword, Megan!"

"Yes, I should be more careful . . ." Megan said with a sickly sweet smile. "It seems like I always . . . MISS!" she slashed again as an angry scowl once again adorned her face.

"Oh, come _on_, Megan! How about that time later on during Third Year, you know, when Mitch cheated on me? I remember that the moment you found out, you stormed out there to find him and gave him a black eye before Chad even knew what had happened . . . remember that?"

Megan reached out a hand and shoved KayKay roughly against a wall.

"If you'd hold still for once, We could be done with this, you'd be out of your pain, and I could move on to Madison and Potter!" she snarled. The sword was poised as if KayKay were a delicate butterfly to be skewered on a pin and tacked to a board for display.

With only a moment to act, KayKay threw herself to the left, wincing as she came down hard on her side. She didn't hesitate, but pushed herself up again, adrenaline the only thing sustaining her by this point.

All she knew, all she could think of was _Keep moving if you don't want to be skewered or slashed!_

"Remember that?" KayKay repeated, stalling for time as she dug through her mind for a better memory. "I couldn't possibly forget it . . . you were always there for me, always. And what about when we both found out we were in Gryffindor together? The only thing better than being able to go to school in England is going to school in England with your best friend. That's how it felt for me. It was the happiest day of my life!"

"You're wasting your time, Determan." Voldemort laughed from somewhere. KayKay couldn't determine where, because to her, the room had darkened and narrowed, and the only things in her vision right now were herself and Megan.

"And all the fun times too . . . shopping for Christmas things, getting our Yule Ball robes . . . getting Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks! Simple things that we've shared and that have made our lives richer! The laughter, the joking, the—"

"_Shut up!_ Megan cried, swinging the sword blindly. KayKay jerked her head back an inch to avoid a nasty injury.

"Megan, we've shared so much . . . and I know that you, the _real_ you can hear me and doesn't want to do this! We've always been there to give each other a hand, and that's made us as close as . . . as sisters!"

KayKay yelped and jumped to the side as Megan again tried to get her with a forward thrust.

"And what about the Johnstons? Mary and Tim? They love you already, Megan, they want you to be a part of their family! They love you almost as much as I do . . . Megan, stop doing this to yourself, you have to fight him, fight Voldemort! His power can be nearly as strong as our love and friendship!"

Megan swung again, but not so harshly, and KayKay retreated a few steps more, stopping suddenly as she felt something solid.

With a jolt, KayKay found that she was again pinned to the wall. She suddenly saw the situation as if she was looking at an image from a satellite. She could see Megan, hot with anger, breathing raggedly, clutching the sword with white knuckles, and herself, ready to collapse, leaning against the wall for support.

Megan coughed . . . or was it a sob? For once, KayKay couldn't be sure. And as Megan swung the sword, a noise was carried with the whoosh as the blade sliced the air, a noise so small and faint, KayKay couldn't even be positive it was there.

"_Run._"

KayKay felt as if she was moving in slow motion as she ducked, leaning to the left and swerving around Megan. She needn't have; the blade would have missed her by nearly a foot. But she couldn't take the chance of assuming Megan's whispered order was just a hallucination.

She ran hard, her breath coming in sharp gasps and her arms pumping as she nearly flew—or so it felt to her, she was getting dizzy again—through the crowd of Death Eaters. She spied Madison and Harry dueling, and she changed her course, half running and half stumbling to them.

Madison gasped. "KayKay! We heard you but we couldn't see—"

"Ah, so we have ourselves another taker?" a Death Eater asked. Both his voice and Madison's sounded far away.

"No!" Megan sharp order came from outside the circle. "No, they're mine! Get away!" 

The crowd loosened slightly, and there was Megan, making her way towards them with a leisurely stroll.

"Listen!" KayKay hissed to Madison and Harry. "I have—" she stopped for a breath, "—an idea"

"Really? Well, what is it?" Madison asked quickly. KayKay looked at Megan. She was almost to the group, which meant that they had little time left.

"All we have to do is . . . RUN!" 

Harry and Madison jumped before KayKay heard them follow after her. She heard voices of Death Eaters—then, Megan ("No, you fools! I told you, they're mine! You stay here in case they take the roundabout way!") before they got out of the room and her voice got quieter—but most closely, Harry, right beside her.

"_That's_ your idea? _Run?_ Why not tie a noose around our necks right now?!"

"Harry . . ." KayKay panted, closing her eyes for a moment to stop her surroundings from tilting and wavering, "shut up."

"No! How stupid can you get? We'll only get more tired, and there'll be lots of angry murderers chasing us!"

"I notice you're running anyhow," Madison commented dryly. That effectively quieted Harry for the moment.

KayKay tried not to look to closely at the doors flying past her at an increasingly slower rate, or how dim the light seemed to be getting. She concentrated only on putting one foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other . . . breathe, _breathe_ . . .

"Oh _great_. Now what, Einstein?" Harry quipped. She bit her lip nervously.

They'd hit a dead end. They were in a room at the end of the hall, and there was no way out except back the way they'd come.

Their troubles were increased as footsteps thudded behind them. Megan threw herself into the room and slammed the door, sliding the heavy bolt across the door to lock it. They were trapped.

"Brilliant, Determan, really brilliant." Harry muttered as Megan walked towards them, sword in hand. "I hope Death is fun, because I'd hate to end this evening on a sorry note."

"Give me your hands." Megan said suddenly, surprising them all.

"_What?_" Harry gasped.

"Give me your hands!" Megan repeated. "And Madison, take this sword from me and stand in the middle of all of us, will you?

When everyone stood, staring at her blankly, she shook her hands to stress the situation. "_Now!_"

As Madison cautiously took the sword, Megan looked at KayKay.

"Hey, KayKay . . . I uh . . . I mean . . ."

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome." KayKay said softly, not because it was a sentimental moment, but because it was all she had energy for. She closed her eyes.

__

Can you stop the room? I'd like to get off the ride now . . . she thought, taking ragged breaths.

"Come on, we don't have much time." Megan said. "Harry, KayKay, you know what you have to do. Madison . . . say anything about what Harry and KayKay do to _anyone_, and you'll have Dumbledore to answer to."

"Megan . . ." KayKay began wearily. " Megan, I don't think I can . . ."

"Don't worry, Harry and I will carry most of it, we just need you to complete the circle." She stopped, appearing to be listening. "We have to get out of here, _now!_"

Then KayKay heard it . . . the pounding of many feet, coming down the same corridor they'd just used. 

Not hesitating, KayKay joined hands with Harry and Megan, and together they encircled Madison, who looked utterly confused.  


"Okay now . . . concentrate . . . " Megan said softly, closing her eyes. KayKay closed hers as well, but she couldn't seem to clear her mind.

__

Can we do it? We're weak, me especially. And if we can do it, can we do it in time? The longer we take, the more likely we are too be discovered, captured, and killed.

Realizing that worrying was doing nothing to help the situation—that it was in fact probably hindering it—KayKay sighed slowly, trying to focus on one small thought. However stray things kept popping up, such as _Harry and I don't even know _how _to do a transportation spell!_ and _should we all concentrate on a certain place in Hogwarts, or will simply "Hogwarts" do?_

The footsteps were closer now, and pure panic fueled KayKay's thoughts.

__

Hogwarts, we need to get to Hogwarts, come on, I'm doing my part, why won't we go?!

Inside her head, it felt like a train was building speed, coming faster and faster, closer and closer, her tension and panic mounting with every second until it reached a deafening climax. 

A roar of sound. A whirl of wind. Flying, spinning, pitching through space with a scream of fury echoing everywhere, in the air, the ground, in their very bones.

And then, silence, stillness, calmness, pure but for the sound of crickets.

KayKay chanced opening her eyes.

"Oh thank God. I'm not hallucinating, right?" she sighed.

"Amazingly, no, despite your suicidal plan. You almost killed us all." Harry muttered.

"No, you're not. We're safe now." Madison confirmed as if Harry hadn't spoken, shaking her head in wonder at the sky, pitch dark and scattered with stars.

KayKay sagged with relief as the rush of adrenaline pulsating through her veins slowed and faded. With it's departure, a new feeling arrived, flooding through her entire body at an alarming rate. 

With a cry of pain, KayKay fell down to her knees, clutching her side and hunching over as far as she could, gasping for air as this feeling saturated her whole being, making the world spin faster than it had the whole night. What little light there was even seemed to pulsate. All the sounds around her echoed eerily, distantly.

"KayKay! KayKay, what is it?" Madison asked in alarm, crouching next to her. The girl gasped when she saw KayKay's hand. "KayKay, you're hurt!"

"No"—_gasp_—"kidding, Sherlock!" KayKay panted, pressing her hand tighter to the deep gash in her side. She'd barely noticed the wound when she was still fighting Megan . . . how could it be so bad? But of course, it must have been bad, since it forced her out of her Animagus form.

"We need to get her up to the school, right away!" Madison insisted. Harry sighed, as if he was subjecting to a horrible punishment, and bent next to KayKay, taking her arm as if to help her up.

"Don't touch me!" KayKay hissed in a weak whisper, hitting him away. Looking up as she struggled to get as much air as she needed, she saw Madison throw Harry a glare before crouching and helping KayKay up herself, bringing one of KayKay's arms over her shoulders.

The sword was left in the grass, the blade shining with blood . . . _her_ blood, KayKay realized in naïve shock. Stumbling over her feet a few times, she struggled to stay awake as she made her way up to Hogwarts. Hogwarts, their sanctuary.

Behind her, she could hear Harry making his way up after them. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Megan still standing there, looking down at the sword with tears in her eyes before picking it up and following, her head hanging.


	17. Living Tolerantly Ever After

__

*~* Chapter Seventeen: Living Tolerantly Ever After *~*

"Remus! She's coming around!"

KayKay felt as if she was lifting out of a thick, pressing fog, getting her first taste of air. She breathed deeply, savoring the feeling, but stopped quickly as a spasm of pain shot through her abdomen.

"KayKay, can you hear me?" 

It was Remus. She could feel his hand on her shoulder, feel his presence hovering over her. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking at the light.

"Yeah . . . what happened?"

His face relaxed and he grinned, bending to give KayKay an awkward hug. 

"You passed out," Madison answered for him, sitting down at the foot of KayKay's bed. "You almost made it up here. Surprising how long you lasted, with all that blood . . ."

"Ugh," KayKay groaned, rubbing her face. Now she remembered . . . Voldemort, the snake, the sword . . .

"You had us worried," Remus said softly. "You even had your little visitor anxious."

"My little . . . who? Oh!" KayKay smiled as Madison picked up Casey (who wasn't quite as small as she had been at Christmas) and set her on the bed.

"Come here, Casey! Come here!" KayKay coaxed. The puppy sniffed around a bit near KayKay's feet, padded in a circle, and curled up sleepily. 

"No, _here_ Casey!" KayKay said, sitting up quickly with her arms outstretched, only to fall back with a cry of pain.

"Honestly!" Madame Pomfrey huffed, bustling over to KayKay's bedside. "A wound like that isn't about to heal instantly! You must not move!"

"But . . . magic!" KayKay protested as Madame Pomfrey began mixing bottles of liquids into a goblet.

"They'll make the process faster, yes, but a sword with that much magic in it is bound to create a wound that will take a long while to heal. And I'd prefer that you didn't have that _dog_ in here." She added, looking reproachfully at Casey.

"Hey, the puppy stays!" KayKay insisted stubbornly.

"All right. Fine." Madame Pomfrey waved a hand dismissively as she turned back to her potion mixing. "It will only be you who suffers if she trips over that IV tubing."

"That what?" KayKay echoed weakly, hoping desperately that she'd misheard the nurse. She looked over at her arm and flinched. "Oh, God."

She and needles did not mix well. Yet here she was, a needle stuck in her arm, dripping medicine slowly into her bloodstream.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick . . ."

"Then I think it's time for a distraction," Dumbledore announced. "Harry, Megan, I'll need you to join us over here if you're able. I do believe that some things need to be discussed."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"But Professor," Harry interjected, "Megan couldn't _really_ be related to Voldemort, could she? I mean, wouldn't we have been able to tell before? Couldn't Voldemort just be playing games, like he was with Ginny?"

The group—or rather, Madison and Harry, since KayKay looked too tired and Megan looked too humiliated and pitiful—had finished relaying the events of the past twenty-four hours. The adults sat in quiet contemplation, and the teenagers sat in uncomfortable silence. Dumbledore spoke up now, though.

"Unfortunately, Harry, I do believe that Voldemort's story is correct. It would not seem his style to entrust a teenager with what he'd feel was such an honor unless it were."

"But—"

"It's true, Harry," Megan sighed, speaking for the first time since they'd gotten back to Hogwarts. "It's just something . . . something I was able to feel. I guess I sort of knew it all along."

"You _knew_ you were the one doing all of this?" Madison gasped incredulously.

"I . . . I don't think I realized I knew." Megan choked on her words and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I think that I started to drive myself mad, trying to forget what I didn't even know I knew.

"And look at what happened! I killed all of those kids, I _almost_ killed my best friend . . . what will the Johnstons think? They'll never want me now, I—I killed all those kids!" She broke down and started crying. "I _killed_ them!" she whispered to herself, burying her face in her hands.

Everyone in the room looked uncomfortably at each other except for KayKay. Harry watched as she took a deep breath and pushed her blankets off of herself, placing her feet slowly on the floor and standing to cross the short distance to Megan's chair.

"Oh, Megan," KayKay sighed, pulling her friend into a hug. She latched on immediately, sobbing onto KayKay's shoulder.

As KayKay tried to say soothing things to Megan, Harry turned to Dumbledore.

"What's going to happen to her? Megan, I mean."

Dumbledore looked at him. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, Harry."

"I mean . . . well, she can't really go among everyone else, can she? Now that we know she is the Heir—"

"Ah, I have a theory regarding that matter. You see, as her Grandfather, Voldemort has contributed to one-fourth of her genetic signature, has he not? However, my suspicions are that when she broke the control of dark magic he had exercised upon her even before birth, the portion of her DNA attributed to him was obliterated."

"But Professor—how can someone exist without all of their—"

"In due time, Harry, I'll explain it to all of you shortly." Dumbledore assured him, looking back at KayKay and Megan.

"It's all my fault." Megan was saying, her voice thick with tears.

KayKay hugged her tightly. "No it isn't Megan, no it isn't—because you aren't the Heir."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

KayKay heard all too clearly the gasp that circled to room at her statement. However, she continued as if she hadn't heard it.

"You're Megan. You're my best friend. The Heir of Voldemort is not. The Heir of Voldemort is a dark shadow possessing none of your morals, none of your hopes, none of your beliefs!"

"I don't understand you, KayKay. You know that I'm the Heir." Megan said simply, looking up.

"You see, Megan . . ." KayKay sat back a bit, wincing slightly at the pain of her wound. "You see, the Heir of Voldemort is a title you held. It puts you into a category by everyone else's eyes but it isn't who you are as a real person."

"But . . ."

"You showing remorse like this proves further that you aren't the Heir. True, while you reside in the same body and the Heir is a spin-off of you, you're two separate people. The Heir may have done bad things, but that doesn't make _you_ a bad person."

"But we're one. We're two different people, but still one, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Worst of all is that I can't control it. I'll have to be like this forever and ever and—"

"If you'll pardon my saying so, Megan, I believe that you are wrong."

KayKay looked over her shoulder at Dumbledore, who smiled kindly at her.

"KayKay, I believe you should get back into bed before Madame Pomfrey spots you and throws all of us out." He said. KayKay nodded meekly and pulled her self up, sliding back in between the sheets.

"Now, as I was saying to Harry . . . it is common knowledge that a person's DNA carried their genetic signature, correct?" Receiving nods all around, Dumbledore nodded once. "Good. So then it goes without saying that any particular grandparent has passed along one fourth of their genes the their grandchild. However, I believe it is possible to isolate these genes that have made you the Heir, Megan, and abolish them.

"Harry asked a few moments ago how someone could live without a fourth of their DNA. The simple matter is that Tom Riddle was an ordinary boy. Voldemort was not. So, when you broke Voldemort's control, Megan, I believe that you destroyed his role in your lineage and that it was replaced by common wizard genes that Tom Riddle carried before he warped himself into the evil wizard we now know."

"But . . . how can you even be sure that that's the case? And how can you be certain that all of the genes from Voldemort are gone?" Megan asked, looking utterly bewildered. KayKay felt much the same. Biochemistry was, naturally, not something she spent much time thinking about.

"I'm not certain that they're all gone, Megan, which is why I'd need to examine the prospect and isolate any stray genes that remained. And, as to your question of how I can even know . . ." Dumbledore calmly flicked his wand to make a mirror appear in Megan's hand, "take a look for yourself."

Megan lifted the mirror with trembling hands and gasped in surprise.

"My . . . how . . . why—"

She let the mirror fall back to her lap and KayKay got a good glimpse of her face. KayKay blinked in shock, wondering how she could have not noticed it before.

Megan's eyes, normally an icy blue color had changed to a light aquamarine. Her hair was also different—a golden strawberry blonde rather than pale blonde.

"Some changes have evidently already taken place. Still, I would like to act now to be certain that none of Voldemort's influence remains within you." Dumbledore said. "Sirius, will you hand me that goblet?"

KayKay watched as Sirius took the goblet—which she had earlier assumed was some sort of medicine for her—and handed it to the headmaster, who in turn gave it to Megan.

"I'll need you to drink all of this," he told her, tapping it with his wand. "It will reverse the effects that Voldemort has had on you."

"Still, can I sleep alone tonight? I mean, somewhere where you can make sure I can't get out?" Megan asked.

"I don't think that it will be necessary, Megan." Dumbledore said.

"But still . . . for my own peace of mind? Please?" 

Dumbledore sighed in contemplation, then nodded once. 

Megan smiled, a refreshing change for KayKay, who had only seen her scowling or crying for what was almost two days by now. She tipped her head back and drained the goblet quickly, ending with a look of disgust on her face.

"Ugh, it felt all slimy, like . . . like . . ." KayKay laughed as Megan stumbled trying to describe the sensation.

"Like drinking jelly?" she supplied, remembering all too well some of the potions that she'd had to drink in the past.

"Yeah! Except grosser . . . potions shouldn't taste like rubber and onions."

"I quite agree, Megan—but again, who would ever think that spinach and earwax flavored jellybeans would be a popular sweet?" Dumbledore commented with a chuckle. "Well, I think it's time that all of you got some sleep. It's been a tiring few days, and all of you—especially you, KayKay—would do well with some rest."

He walked over to a different bedside table and handed each of the teenagers a goblet, each doubtlessly containing a dreamless sleep potion. KayKay couldn't have appreciated the concept more.

"Come with me, Megan, I have a place for you to sleep." Dumbledore said, indicating for her to follow. She obediently rose, looking over her shoulder at KayKay, who smiled.

"'Night, KayKay, 'night Harry." Madison yawned. "In my state, I don't need a potion to fall asleep!"

"Yeah, but it's nice. Keeps you from having dreams. I wish I had an endless supply of this stuff sometimes." KayKay commented, fully prepared to drift away to dreamland.

"Goodnight KayKay. I love you."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Harry watched as KayKay said goodnight to Remus. ("I love you too, Uncle Remmy.") Things seemed to finally be settling down—assuming Dumbledore was right about all of Voldemort's influence being purged from Megan.

__

If only there was some way all those students could be brought back or healed or something . . . but this isn't something as simple as being petrified, like it was four years ago. They're really gone . . .

"G'night, Harry." Sirius said, pulling him out of his thoughts. Sirius seemed to hesitate a moment before pulling Harry into a tight hug.

"You've got to stop doing this," he whispered. "I'm going to get old and gray from all the stress you put me through."

"Goodnight, Sirius. And trust me," he laughed dryly, "if I had it my way, this wouldn't happen."

"I know." Sirius clapped Harry on the back and left with Remus. Harry yawned, suddenly realizing just how tired he was.

"Hey, Madison," he asked as he crawled into his bed, "did Megan ever say why she went to your Dormitory and brought you with?"

"No . . . maybe Dumbledore would know. I'll ask them tomorrow." Madison replied. Harry noted that she sounded very tired as well. "Anyhow, _I'm_ going to sleep. Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight" they both replied as Madison quickly drank all of the potion in her goblet and fell back onto her pillows, a sleepy smile forming on her face. 

Harry expected that KayKay, especially considering the pain she must have been experiencing, would be out next. So, he was surprised when he heard her tentative voice ask, "Harry?"

"Yeah?" he replied, looking over at her.

"Well . . . thanks for getting rid of that snake earlier." She said.

"Oh . . . yeah, no problem. Literally. And, uh . . ."

"Yes?" KayKay prompted.

"And . . . thanks for getting through to Megan. We would've died if you hadn't." Harry said quickly. Swallowing his pride tasted bittersweet, but he had to admit that he _had_ given her a hard time about her plan earlier.

"Trust me." KayKay laughed to herself, "It was my pleasure." She then sighed and rested her head against the wall behind her bed. "I hate needles." She muttered. "I just want to grab this thing and tear it out of my arm!"

Harry laughed outright at this statement.

"What?" KayKay asked, sounding scandalized.

"Nothing, nothing, it's just . . . that was so _random!_" he laughed harder.

"No, you want to hear random? When that snake was coming at me, I actually looked around for a shovel to kill it with!" KayKay laughed.

"Yeah, one time during the night I had to duck, and the first thing that came to my mind when I hit the ground was, 'Wow, this floor is really dirty. Someone should _really_ clean it up!' "

When their laughter had died, KayKay commented, "It was like living out the worst nightmare you could possibly have . . ." her smile diminished. "When I was facing Megan, I had no idea what to do. I couldn't hurt her, obviously . . . I mean, she's my best friend!"

KayKay faltered, but continued. "But when I looked into her eyes, I could tell that she wouldn't hesitate to kill me. I . . . I was so confused, and everything seemed far away and hazy, like a dream, like I was watching myself fight, not actually being _part_ of the action. At one point she . . . she actually had the sword up to my neck. If I hadn't gotten away . . ."

She stopped, rubbing her face with a sigh.

"And so many kids . . . so _many_ kids _died_ . . . it doesn't feel right, that I survived and they didn't. I mean our chances weren't _too_ different . . . why them but not me? It just makes me feel . . . guilty."

Harry frowned. "Stop being stupid. It isn't your fault."

KayKay looked over at him again with a curious and pensive expression. 

"Harry, I've been wondering . . . why do you hate me so much?"

This question was the last one Harry had expected.

"What do you mean? I told you why we broke up—"

"Oh, I _know_ that . . . I mean, why are you still treating me worse than you treat Malfoy?"

Harry looked up at the ceiling in concentration, as if it would give him the answers. He knew _why_ . . . just not how to say why.

"I guess," he said slowly, still trying to string the words together in his mind, "that it's because I am—or was—or whatever— worried that you still liked me . . . _that_ way. I just wanted to avoid the thought, I suppose."

He looked back down in surprise when he heard KayKay laughing.

"What?" 

"I'm sorry, it's just—I haven't had those sorts of thoughts or feelings about you for a long time." She chuckled. "You know, I almost even think that I agree with the incentive that you took."

"You are? I always thought you considered me a crazy, egotistical jerk that was full of himself and lower than the scum at the bottom of your dog's water bowl for breaking up with you and then asking Madison on a date a few days later."

"Well, yes," KayKay agreed seriously. "You were and still are and probably always will be. But that's not my point."

"Then what, pray tell, is?" Harry asked.

"Well they say—"

"Who's 'They'?" Harry interrupted.

"I don't know, just 'they'. The people you refer to when you're using a common quote or cliché. But anyhow, they say that whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. And I've sort of noticed that. I mean, besides being happier, we're stronger, better people for taking the risk of being alone."

"Never mind that it was my brilliant idea!"

"Yeah, but it only worked because I let it work." KayKay scoffed.

"Oh yeah? This is a dictatorship, not a democracy! It worked because I'm a guy, I'm smarter, men are always right, and because I said so!"

"You, smarter? That's a laugh and a half!"

"Laugh if you want, but you know that it's true. Women would still be non-voting housewives if we hadn't let them have rights." Harry stated calmly.

"Go to Hell, Potter!" KayKay said with disgust before flopping onto her side and reaching for her goblet of dreamless sleep potion.

"You know what? I was wrong before. I hate you because you're bratty, provocative, and sarcastic!"

"Ah, but I thought that as a man you _couldn't_ be wrong. But then, I always questioned your maturity." KayKay quipped before flopping back onto her pillows, asleep with a triumphant grin.

"Women." Harry muttered before drinking his own potion and falling into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

* * * * *

"Well, one of you must know!" 

Thus was Harry's wakeup call, courtesy of Madison. Blinking his eyes as he sat up, he surveyed the situation.

It seemed that he was the last to wake. Madison and Megan were both settled near KayKay's bed, and the three were chattering.

"Excuse me, but some people are actually _attempting_ to sleep here," he said, throwing an irritable glare at KayKay.

"It's past noon for your information, _Potter_, and it was a sleeping potion. You would've woken up right now anyhow," she said, returning the scowl.

"So," she continued, looking back at Megan as if she'd never been interrupted, "you have _no_ idea why you brought Madison?"

"No, I told you. I don't know why."

"But I believe that _I_ do." A new voice entered the conversation. All four teenagers looked in surprise at the headmaster, whom they hadn't even seen enter.

Madison spoke up first. "So, you know? Care to share?"

"I will, of course. I did some research last night, and I believe I've discovered the Heir's reason for capturing you, Madison. It seems to be the only plausible explanation."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"KayKay," Dumbledore said, turning to look at her, "meet your cousin."

He indicated Madison, and KayKay's jaw dropped.

"Cousin?!" she gasped incredulously. "What do you mean, 'cousin'? All of my cousins are dead!"

"I'm dead?" Madison asked, seeming unfazed. Then the statement Dumbledore made seemed to sink in, and Madison gasped belatedly.

"If she's my cousin, why haven't I ever seen her before?" KayKay and Madison both asked at the same time, pointing at each other. KayKay glanced at Madison, not sure whether to laugh or cry.

"Well, my family gets bigger every time I have a run-in with Voldemort, huh? An uncle last year, a cousin this year—hey, maybe next time I'll get one of my parents!"

"Please KayKay, this is no time for joking around." Dumbledore said. "As you know, this means that more security plans must be made for Madison's safety."

"But I'm not joking . . ." KayKay swallowed hard, blinking away a tear. "I'm not joking!" she persisted, her voice quavering. Madison got up from her chair and sat on the edge of KayKay's bed, pulling her into a much-needed hug. She buried her face into Madison's shoulder, trying her hardest to not cry.

"It doesn't matter, see?" KayKay said, looking up again as the tears she'd tried to restrain trickled out. "See? Because all the relatives in the world—I can discover all the long lost aunts and uncles and cousins and nieces and nephews and . . . and . . . and whatever else . . . but I won't ever find them, you see? You see? Mom and Dad and Celia and Jack and Bill . . . they're gone forever. 

"And I have so many people I don't remember that are coming back into my life but I'll never have them, I—I saw them die, I _watched_ them! And . . . and now I have a cousin," KayKay smiled through her tears at Madison, "a new cousin and friend—but I can't remember her, and I couldn't remember Remus, so maybe, just maybe if I hadn't been able to remember my parents or my brothers and sister . . ."

"KayKay, the reason that you don't remember me is because I'm adopted." Madison said softly. "It was icy out, and my parents were going to visit my mom's sister—"

"Your mother, KayKay." Dumbledore supplied quietly.

"Really? I didn't know it was—" Madison caught herself and continued with her story. "We were just kids. Not even three at the time. I was an only child at the time—home with the babysitter. I don't remember it. My new parents told me about it when I turned sixteen. I knew I was adopted before then, when I turned thirteen, but . . . it never occurred to me that I had any blood family left."

This time KayKay was the one who took the initiative to give her cousin a hug.

"Now there's no way I can go back to Salem Academy." Madison said with a light laugh as they parted. KayKay laughed too, wiping away a stray tear and smiling again at Madison.

"Oh, and one more thing, something far less shocking—Hermione And Ron have been constantly asking me when they can visit you. I'm sure they're pacing out in the hall as we speak. Shall I send them in?"

KayKay didn't have to look around to know that Harry and Megan were nodding just as enthusiastically as she was. Dumbledore smiled knowingly and left. A few moments later, there came the sound of hurried footsteps and Hermione's squeal.

"Oh Harry, KayKay, Megan . . . thank _God_ you're all right!" she exclaimed, rushing to give KayKay a hug.

"Choking! Not breathing!" KayKay gasped.

"Oh, sorry!" Hermione apologized, letting go immediately.

"No problemo." KayKay replied, massaging her throat as Hermione went on to strangle Harry and Megan.

"Hey, KayKay." Ron said, not quite as energetically as Hermione, but just as happily, "Don't scare us like that again, eh mate?"

He'd obviously learned from Hermione's mistake, because he simply clapped her on the shoulder and smiled instead of giving her a hug. Of course, that may also have been because he was . . . well . . . _Ron_.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, seating herself in a chair, suddenly far more relaxed. The four whom this question had been directed to looked at each other quickly—well, not so much at each other as at Megan, silently asking if she felt comfortable sharing.

She must have, for she began. "Well, you see, KTRT radio . . . that is, my ramblings . . . weren't really for fun . . ."

* * * * *

"You want us to _what?_" KayKay demanded incredulously.

A week had passed, and a very boring one at that for KayKay, who'd been restrained to her bed due to her condition. However, thanks to some fine healing magic, she hadn't taken nearly as long to recover as a muggle with the same wound would have.

(Plus, she was left with a very cool scar as a relic, which KayKay—being her odd self— thought was a major plus.)

Having finally escaped Madame Pomfrey, KayKay felt more than ready to do something outside. The blue sky and fresh breeze had been calling her name all week. Unfortunately, she was told to first go see Dumbledore in his office.

KayKay felt somewhat surprised to see Harry and Megan already occupying two of the chairs facing the headmaster's desk, but not asking any questions, she entered the room.

"KayKay, it's good to see that you're back on your feet again. Forgive me for being terse, but I have a serious matter to discuss with the three of you . . . a request if you will. Please, be seated."

KayKay was a bit unnerved by Dumbledore's words, but she sat down obediently, wondering what the situation could be.

Dumbledore wasted no time getting to the point, and that was why she could now be heard questioning the headmaster in disbelief.

"You want us to _what?!_" she asked again, surprised she hadn't yet passed out from shock. It was a good thing she'd been sitting down.

"But that's impossible!" Harry protested.

"You've told us so yourself!" KayKay added. Megan remained silent, her expression unreadable.

"Yeah, no spell can awaken the dead!" Judging by Harry's tone, he was as disturbed at the thought as KayKay was.

"Indeed, I _have_ said that Harry," Dumbledore replied calmly. "I am quite aware of how far the capabilities of death reach, having studied the concept for many years."

"Then I don't understand your point." Harry said. A thought suddenly occurred to KayKay, like a light bulb flicking on above her head.

"Unless . . ." she started slowly.

" . . . The victims are not truly dead." Dumbledore finished. "Very astute, KayKay."

"But what are _we_ supposed to do about it?" Megan asked. "I mean, yes, you've already said that you want us to revive them, but . . . _how?_"

KayKay noted that Megan didn't question why they weren't really dead, even though it seemed like such.

I'll bet that the little part of her fighting for control is responsible for that. KayKay thought with a smile.

"Well, I am about to tell you how. This is very delicate, but very undefined. You'll have to use the utmost caution."

All three of the teenagers nodded solemnly, but inside, KayKay was quivering in excitement. If they could really bring the victims back! Oh, it would be a perfect ending!

* * * * *

"Okay, so let's get this ready. KayKay, you're job is to destroy the part of the curse that still inhabits them. That's the part you'll need to concentrate on doing. Harry, you work on healing them, and since it was me who made the curse, I'll concentrate on reversing it and lifting it, and . . . so on and so forth."

KayKay was pleased to see Megan taking charge of the situation. She seemed to be recovering from the trauma of realizing she'd been the Heir surprisingly well, although KayKay suspected that much of it was due to the discovery that the students weren't dead and that together they had a chance to revive them.

"Where should we start?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore said to start with the Head Boy. So let's get a move on. He'll only be able to keep Madame Pomfrey away for so long." Megan answered. "Come on. It's through here." She said, leading the way into a special part of the Hospital Wing.

"Creepy," was the only comment KayKay made as they traveled between the beds, looking for the right one. Finding Brian's bed, they arranged themselves around it and held hands.

"Now relax . . . find your center, your concentration of power . . ." Megan murmured as the small group stood in the semidarkness. KayKay found it easiest to keep her eyes open during this process, focusing on Brian as she willed the curse inhabiting him to burn itself out, to dissipate.

The others had their eyes closed. Harry seemed to be talking to himself, moving his mouth as if he were physically telling Brain's body to heal. KayKay concentrated harder on her job, pouring all of her frustrations with Voldemort and his horrible followers into her thoughts while making sure she concentrated only on destroying the curse. It would have been bad if she'd gotten off track and hurt Brian in the process.

She then noticed something odd. Light seemed to be collecting above Brian, a mix of red, emerald, and icy blue, all of it coming from _them_, from Megan, Harry, and herself. As time passed, the light became less wispy and more concentrated.

KayKay was getting that feeling again, the sensation of something building momentum inside of her, rushing forward, filling her ears with a howling sound until she was afraid she'd go deaf.

The light stemming from each of them suddenly twisted into one, erupting into a dazzling white column as wind swept the room. On either side of her, Megan and Harry seemed oblivious to what was happening around them. Was she the only one who could tell?

There was a final flash of light, followed by what KayKay could later only describe as a sonic boom or clash of thunder that shook the room and pitched them all off of their feet. The wind died and papers that had been swept around the room slowly settled to the floor.

"Whoa." KayKay said breathlessly, propping herself up on one elbow and looking around. She tried to find another word, but the only thing her mouth was able to emit was another "Whoa."

"What happened? What—did it work?" Megan asked, looking over at Brian's bed. KayKay looked too, holding her breath with an intense hope that they'd succeeded.

Brian looked as still as ever. The radical magic that had just occurred right around him didn't seem to have altered his state in the slightest.

"I—I don't think it did." Harry said slowly. 

"But . . . how could it not have? We certainly did _something_." Megan said.

"Ugh . . ."

"What _now_, Harry?" Megan asked, turning to look at him. "Did you hurt yourself or something?"

"That wasn't me." Harry said, bewildered.

KayKay turned to look at Brian so quickly that her neck cracked. He still appeared motionless . . . but then again . . .

"Oy . . . my head . . ." he sat up suddenly, rubbing his forehead. KayKay let out a shriek of excitement and scrambled to her feet, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug that he instinctively returned.

"_This_ is an interesting wakeup call," he commented, sounding a little confused.

"Well, it's been an interesting few months for you, Brian. You were dead, but then not really dead, and now you're alive again. Besides all of the other victims, who else has that interesting claim to fame?" Megan said.

"I'd have to guess not many." Brian answered.

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! KayKay, tell him what he's won!"

"A 'Get out of finals free' card, an up-and-coming summer holiday, and a complimentary disco dance, complete with Coca-Cola!" KayKay declared, laughing along with Brian and leaving Harry and Megan to wonder what the heck was so funny.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Harry watched, puzzled, as KayKay helped Brian out of bed and began singing a song by the BeeGees, doing some sort of funny disco dance.

"Uh . . . KayKay? Brain needs to see Dumbledore, remember?" Megan asked cautiously.

"I know," she responded, laughing in surprise as Brian dipped her. Harry looked over at Megan, silently asking, _"What the heck is she doing?"_ The bewildered shrug she gave him in return clearly stated that she hadn't a clue.

"Then why are you dancing?" Megan asked with a sigh.

"Ummm . . . blood circulation?" KayKay's response sounded more like a question. Harry gave her an "Oh, really now?" look, which she evidently spotted while spinning.

"Okay, then music therapy? Cure for a sleeping foot? Inside joke?!" 

"That last one must be it," Harry said, looking over at Megan, who nodded.

"Okay, song over, time to send Brian to Mister Headmaster." Megan said, placing her hands on Brian's shoulders and marching him out of the room.

"Bye, Brian! Remind me later that I still owe you a Coke!" KayKay called after him. She smiled to herself, and Megan and Harry exchanged another look.

"Isn't it great?" KayKay said suddenly, startling Harry. "Everything is coming together, like the end of a story or something. All of our friends will be back, and so many kids will be happy . . ."

"Especially Sabrina!" Megan commented. "Didn't she like that one boy, ummm . . . what was his name? Wasn't it Innes?"

"Yeah . . ." KayKay said. "And soon it'll be summertime and we can see some of our friends from America . . ."

__

We're wasting time here! Harry thought as Megan and KayKay chattered.

"Sorry to interrupt this happy moment," he said suddenly, "but there's a lot of students left to cure and not much time left in the day if we still want to play Quidditch later on."

The girls nodded and migrated towards the next bed.

"See, Megan?" KayKay said, "No lasting harm done. Pretty soon everything will be back to normal—well, as normal as you can _get_ at Hogwarts, that is."

"That's normal enough for _me_," Harry commented.

"And me." Megan smiled, holding her hands out for both of theirs. Again they joined the circle to reverse the evil of Voldemort with trust, care, and the determination inhabiting "good guys" that kept evil from winning in the end. A determination so vital that, if lost, could mean the end to the light side. Forever.

Harry closed his eyes. _Heal,_ he thought. _Heal._

Heal and keep faith.

* * * * *

"Aw come on, it's not like it's an actual game or nothin'!" KayKay protested yet again. "Besides, doesn't it get boring to you guys playing the same position day after day? Come on, let's mix it up!"

"Okay, I agree with KayKay. I want to be Keeper!" Hermione said with a laugh.

"Fine, fine . . . I call Chaser!" Ron said quickly.

"Seeker!" This claim came from KayKay.

"Hey what makes you so sure I want to give up my position to you?" Harry asked. He watched in amusement as KayKay flew over to him, a scowl on her face. It was so fun to make her mad.

"What makes you so sure I'll give you any choice?"

Obviously a threat.

Harry didn't answer, not coming up with a good enough comeback. He merely grabbed her bat and dropped it off in the stands before flying down to where Ron was hovering.

"Ready?" Ron called. Receiving nods, her kicked the Quidditch chest open and blew hard on his silver whistle before kicking off the ground to join the game.

To Harry, it was a wonderful feeling. After the stress of the attacks, then fighting Voldemort, then healing the victims, it was nice to not have a single worry or care, even if it was only for a bit.

He looked around at his friends, laughing as they made fools of themselves at unfamiliar positions. Megan was trying to swipe a fly away from her face. Hermione was weaving in and out of the goal hoops. Ron was seeing how long he could keep the Quaffle in the air without using his hands. KayKay, rather than searching for the Snitch, was flying in lazy circles and doing loop-de-loops, glancing around only once or twice.

And Harry was feeling so at peace that he didn't even bother to make fun of her for it.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ *

KayKay laid on her back on the floor of the Hogwarts Express as it rumbled down the tracks towards Kings Cross Station. Around her, her friends chattering . . . Megan and Hermione about keeping in touch over the summer, and Madison and Ron about professional Quidditch teams.

Only she and Harry were quiet, having reached a sort of silent truce. She could only wonder about what Harry was thinking, but she personally was staring at the ceiling, her head spinning with random thoughts.

__

What will it be like to spend the summer with Remus? Wait, wasn't he an Auror at one point? Would it be legal for him to teach me? 

Speaking of legal, why didn't anyone in our family adopt Madison when my aunt and uncle died? Did they not care enough? That would have been so much fun, growing up with someone almost exactly my age . . . but then, would she have died too, that Christmas?

Wait, if she's related to me through my mom, that means that she's a descendant of Godric Gryffindor as well! How could she have been placed in Slytherin?

She stretched her arms up to the ceiling, suppressing a yawn. As she lowered her arms, she suddenly noticed her bare arm and sat up with a loud gasp, causing everyone to look at her.

"My arm!" She exclaimed, examining it in wonder. "I didn't notice before . . . the tattoo is gone!"

She couldn't for the life of her figure out how it took her this long to take not of the absence of the green letters.

"Megan, did you get rid of it?" she asked, looking up at her friend, who looked just as bewildered.

"No, I didn't. I have no idea how—"

"I did it." Harry said quietly, as if embarrassed to be admitting it.

"You . . . when?" KayKay asked, thoroughly surprised.

"Back when we were helping Brian. I mean, I just thought—you know, who wants that on their arm all summer? It's not like it's something you'd want to show the whole world, and wearing long shirts all summer . . . besides, who needs a reminder like _that_ about something so bad? I dunno . . ."

"Thank you." KayKay said, smiling and meaning it. Even if they'd stopped hating each other, it was still a really nice thing to do . . .

"Anytime" he responded, appearing relieved that she wasn't going to question his motives.

"Anything off the trolley?"

__

Perfect timing! KayKay mentally congratulated the witch pushing the cart of food and sweets. She stood, digging in the back pocket of her jeans for some money and finding nine sickles and two dollars.

__

Well, those are pretty useless to me now. KayKay thought, stuffing the American currency back into her pocket and proceeding to purchase a bottle of Butterbeer and as many Chocolate Frogs as her sickles would allow.

"Wow, _that_ looks healthy." Madison said sarcastically as KayKay sat back down with her sweet feast.

"I know, doesn't it?" KayKay replied seriously, unwrapping a frog and eating it hungrily.

"Hey Harry," Madison asked, taking the Famous Wizard card and studying it, "if you're so famous for getting rid of Voldemort the first time around, why aren't _you_ on one of these?"

"Dunno." Harry yawned. "Does it really matter?"

"I suppose not, if _you_ don't care." Madison replied simply.

"Hi everyone, and welcome to the KTRT Lunch Crunch! I'm your host, Megan, soon to be Megan Johnston! That just rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? Yes, well, everything is new now . . . new music, new morning, show, and new prizes to win here on your station of choice!"

Everyone looked nervously at Megan, who simply winked in response and said, "I'm fine guys, don't worry. This time it _is_ for fun . . . so, we're here with a myriad of interviews, the first from a young Miss KayKay Determan. KayKay, how are you on this beautiful day? Enjoying your train ride home?"

"Oh yes, immensely," KayKay said dramatically, deciding that she might as well play along.

"Nice, nice, and I'm sorry this is such a short chat, but do you have any profound statements for everyone listening out there?"

"Yes, inhale once for every time you exhale."

"Very wise. Thank you for chatting with us today, KayKay."

"Any time, Megan." KayKay laughed. "Can I request that you play a song before I go?"

"Surely." Megan responded, pitching her radio voice perfectly.

"I'd like to hear 'The Dance' by Garth Brooks"

"No problemo! Goodbye, KayKay."

With this, Megan twirled her wand and made the song fill the room.

__

Looking back on the memory of   
The dance we shared beneath the stars above.   
For a moment all the world was right.  
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye?

"Wow, I haven't listened to this song since . . ." KayKay thought for a moment. It _was_ this song, but it hadn't sounded the same . . . 

__

. . . Because Matt was the one who sang it! That's right, I remember now . . .

" . . . Since Halloween" she finished.  


__

And now I'm glad I didn't know   
The way it all would end, the way it all would go.   
Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain,  
But I'd have had to miss the dance.

She smiled as she remembered the situation . . . it was all so funny now that she thought back on it.

"An excellent song! Never gets old . . . now, earlier today we had a very special guest in the studio. Unfortunately, she was unable to come during the Lunch Crunch, seeing how she had prior engagements, some gibberish about school and homework. Still, she requested that I now share with you all what she had to say."

Megan cleared her throat, as if ready to launch into a speech.

"The young lady Callista MacLeod, more commonly known as Calli, wished that her statement be shared.

" 'Well, here we are, at the end of another story already! It's astounding, I think, that such an amazing thing can happen as people from all parts of the country, even all parts of the _world_ gathering at a website to laugh and share a story.'

" 'I say share, because when it's all said and done, this story isn't just mine. It's ours. Every one of you readers adds a unique flavor to the story, whether intentionally or not. So even though I may get on my computer nearly every evening and faithfully type, weaving a story, if it weren't for all of you, it would have entirely different situations.' "

Madison, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and KayKay all exchanged odd glances before turning back to listen to Megan.

"I spoke with Calli at great length about this, wondering how it was that something so simple as having one more person or one more response to a story could alter it so radically, to which she responded,

" " Without people, I wouldn't even do this. Without those things so simple as Kayla foaming at the mouth, Icy insisting, yet again, that Harry and KayKay are meant for each other—' "

Harry and KayKay shared a horrified glance before scooting even further away from each other.

" '—Hannah arguing Harry was a jerk and that he should have been clobbered with Matt's hobbyhorse in KayKay's dream, and all the other thousands of little things they do, the story would never have been quite the same. It seems to always have a mind of it's own, which in truth scares me sometimes, because I may introduce a random idea meant to simply add color to the plot, and it _becomes_ the plot.' "

"Hey, how did she know about _that_ dream?" KayKay wondered out loud, causing the others to stare at her. She then decided to be quiet.

"Calli continued to say, 'At this point, I want to truly thank every single person who reads this story, from the very bottom of my heart. The support you give, the involvement you show, the opinions you voice, and the sincere curiosity you express is overwhelming and more deeply appreciated than you'll ever know. You make the magic, and without you, I wouldn't even be doing this, I wouldn't have even considered it.'

"She claimed that it was just her contacts, but at this point in time I saw tears come into the young author's eyes. She finished by saying, 'So thank you all, whether you're my oldest most faithful reader or my newest. You are all so very appreciated . . . you'll never realize just how much you all mean to me.' "

Megan closed her eyes and smiled, obviously finished. Everyone was silent for a moment, until Ron voiced a random thought.

"Wouldn't that be funny, if we were all just characters in a book, and there was some greater force dictating everything we did and then publishing or posting it somewhere for other people to read?"

"You know," Hermione said, "I think that _life_ is a book, at least philosophically. We all hold the pen to write the chapter that's our life, but if it weren't for everyone else around us, it wouldn't turn out the same way. Even the slightest comment affects our lives, our story, like the comments a reader makes could affect a real story."

"Yeah, let's slap on a little end page that says, 'And they all lived happily ever after. The end." Madison said.

"_Happily_ ever after?" Harry said. "Come on, that's a Cinderella thing. Life is never perfect, which is okay because it doesn't have to be. It would be pretty boring actually."

"Yes. It should be something realistic. And they all lived _tolerantly_ ever after!" KayKay exclaimed.

Everyone laughed and chorused together, "The end!"


End file.
